# Law & Order

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order/73081>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [July 19, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order/73081 "2001-07-19T18:12:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ThisYearsGirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@ThisYearsGirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisYearsGirl)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order/73081/1 "2001-07-19T18:12:35Z")

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I thought the cops on Law & Order are homicide; how come sometimes they investigate kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder?

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order/73081/2 "2001-07-19T18:30:39Z")

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Short answer: writers.

Longer answer: I don’t recall that the squad on L&O has been specifically designated as “homicide.” Not so designating them allows the writers greater latitude in their storylines, although murders tend to be jucier.

Of course we also have L&O: Special Victims Unit which deals more exclusively with sex crimes, and in the upcoming season will have a new L&O series apparently from the criminal’s perspective.

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**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\
**Post date:** [July 19, 2001, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/law-order/73081/3 "2001-07-19T19:32:24Z")

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From [http://members.aol.com/dwalheim/lawandorder/lofaq.html#4.4](http://members.aol.com/dwalheim/lawandorder/lofaq.html#4.4)

> [@](#):
>
> **WHY ARE THESE HOMICIDE COPS INVESTIGATING A BURGLARY/KIDNAPPING/ETC.?**
> 
> Short answer: dramatic license. Period.
> 
> Long answer: There are a couple theories, the primary of which is the DA’s Squad, which comes to us from a NYC cop. This means that the detectives are on the D.A.'s Squad, which mainly works on homicides but also on high profile or sensitive cases. This also explains the ADA’s involvement in every arrest made by the detectives. Even this theory requires some allowance for dramatic license.

HTH,  
Quix

P.S. Great show, though.