SVU faces a gender bias investigation

The US Department of Justice will investigate the New York City Police Department, which inspired the hit TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, for its treatment of victims of sexual assault.

Two federal prosecutors in New York announced Thursday in a joint statement that the Special Victims Unit (SVD) will be investigated to determine if it is “enabling a pattern or practice of gender-biased policing.”

Allegations against the agency “include failing to carry out basic investigative steps and instead embarrassing and abusing survivors and re-traumatizing them during investigations,” the statement said.

“Sex crime victims deserve the same rigorous and impartial investigations into their cases that the NYPD accords to other categories of crimes,” Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in the statement.

His Eastern District counterpart, Breon Peace, added that “over the past few months, we have received information from a variety of sources on historical issues regarding how the Special Victims Division has been conducting its investigations for many years.”

The Ministry of Justice said that it is planning a comprehensive review of the guidelines, procedures and training of the SVD for the investigation of sexual attacks.

The New York Mayor Eric Adams, the former police chief of the city, as well as the current police chief Kechant Sewell said that they would work together during the examination.

The NYPD is the largest urban police force in the United States, with approximately 36,000 uniformed officers and 19,000 administrative employees.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is part of the hugely popular Law & Order TV series and has aired on NBC since 1999.

With no fewer than 23 seasons, it’s the longest-running prime-time series in US television history — and NBC said Wednesday the 24th season will begin this September.