Law and Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural crime show set in New York City. Many episodes are loosely based on real crimes found in the news which attracted a lot of attention. The Special Victims Unit is described as a new elite team of NYPD detectives who investigate sex-related crimes and crimes involving women and children. This crime drama was originally intended to follow detectives, Elliot Stabler and his partner Olivia Benson, portrayed as seasoned detectives who have seen it all and have difficult pasts that motivate them to solve the crime. Law and Order SVU is a television show that focuses on the interrelationships between the institutions of policing and prosecution as equally necessary elements of criminal justice as a whole. Law and Order dispels the belief that the justice system is a streamlined system from the point of view of the police or the prosecution. They encounter many obstacles when they are on the road to seeking justice. When the show first came out, it focused solely on the detectives' police work. Law and Order SVU emphasizes the ability of cops to do their jobs properly and without too much incompetence. Most of the department's officers are described as being able to perform the smaller tasks of police work without much difficulty, such as laying down crime scene tape, collecting forensic evidence, etc. Most of the problems that arise from this spectacle are the result not of incompetence but of accidents and misinformation, such as when the witness or victim provides false information. As with some crime-solving television shows, there is no regular character on the show who represents a not-so-competent cop or informant on Law and Order, except maybe the occ...... middle of paper.. .... , such as rape and domestic abuse, as well as cases involving children and the elderly. The police officers and prosecutors in this program intentionally demonstrate themselves as highly competent to emphasize their ability to do their jobs properly. The characters on this show are efficient and proven to be the best "guy" for the job. ReferencesByers, Michele and Val Marie Johnson. The CSI effect: television, crime and governance. Lanham: Lexington, 2009. Print.David, Greg (February 19, 2007). "Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay Speaks!", MSN. Retrieved 05/12/2009Dwyer, Kevin and Juré Fiorillo. Law & Order True Stories: Special Victims Unit: The true crimes behind the best episodes of the hit television series. Waterville, Me.: Thorndike, 2008. Print.Silver, Jim. The Crime Junkie's Guide to Criminal Law: From Law and Order to Laci Peterson. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008. Print.