How the tables have turned.
The Justice Department announced June 30 that they're conducting an investigation into the policies and practice of NYPD's Special Victims Division (SVD), which commonly handles crimes involving rape, sexual abuse and children. According to the media release, the Justice Department received "information alleging deficiencies at SVD that have persisted for more than a decade, depriving survivors and the public of the prompt, thorough and effective investigations needed to protect public safety."
The Justice Department writes that officers failed "to conduct basic investigative steps and instead shaming and abusing survivors and re-traumatizing them during investigations."
This same division inspired Law and Order creator Dick Wolf to write an episode based on the 1986 murder of Jennifer Levin, who was strangled in Central Park by her ex Robert Chambers. The episode, "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die," prompted the 1999 spin-off, starring Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni.
In recent years, the series has made efforts to improve its depiction of the police force after critics said it prioritized police perspectives.
"We've tried really hard in the last year to show how class and race affect the outcomes of justice in society, but I'm beginning to suspect ‘really hard' wasn't enough," showrunner Warren Leight said in June 2020. "This has to be a moment where people make themselves uncomfortable, where people in power have to make themselves uncomfortable."
Leight said the writers are aware that corruption might exist within the real-life police departments, but explained, "I can't make every episode about a bad cop."
"I think we're trying to depict how justice should be handled for victims and for perps," he continued. "Olivia [Hargitay] makes mistakes...but she's empathic, which is I think what separates the cops on our television show from a lot of what we're seeing these days on our livestreams."
Law and Order: SVU has since outlived its predecessor and is officially the longest-running primetime live-action series. Season 24 is set to premiere this September.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)