When the Police need to arrest a medical professional, they are frequently shown barging into his/her office, exam room, or even the operating room. This would never happen in real life and is strictly forbidden, as it is a gross violation of the patient's privacy, and in the case of the OR, could contaminate the sterile environment, thereby jeopardizing patient safety as well.
We consistently see the police go undercover to investigate a sex crime despite the fact they would have appeared in the media for other cases they have been assigned too.
Many times during trial a witness is asked if they recognize the defendant they're testifying about. The witness merely points at the defendant and the ADA says 'let the record reflect the witness has identified the defendant'. In real life, witnesses are asked to describe what the defendant's wearing and where they're sitting so the record can actually reflect.
When the detectives are interviewing someone or working a crime scene, they are never seen taking notes. Real detectives are constantly taking notes. The notes are so important that they are occasionally booked into evidence to ensure the originals will be available for review before trial.
The same detectives are seen dealing with both the rape victim and the lead suspect, this would never happen in real life for the fear of forensic cross-contamination (forensic material being transferred from one to another via the hands and clothing of a third party).
During a number of episodes which portray trials which extend over a multi-day time periods, the jury is often shown wearing the same clothing as during the beginning of those trials.
During a number of episodes which portray trials which extend over a multi-day time periods, the jury is often shown wearing the same clothing as during the beginning of those trials.
In several episodes, the defense attorney warns that his client cannot be charged with the same crime if the district attorney's office drops the charge in question. This is not true. If a jury acquits or convicts a defendant, then he or she cannot be prosecuted, again, for that particular crime. However, a disagreement over plea bargain does not give the defendant protection against being tried, again, once new evidence is presented. Charges, in these cases, can be re-filed.
The series is ostensibly based on the NYPD's Special Victims Division, but the SVD wasn't established until 2003, four years after the series premiered.
Despite many of the crimes being homicides in addition to being sex crimes, homicide detectives are not shown to have responded to the case. The major crime would be the murder itself, with the sex crime elements being included offenses.
The female detectives routinely have their hair long and wear high heel boots. Neither would be worn by a female police officer working the streets as they could allow them to become injured by a suspect or during a foot chase.
In multiple episodes, Elliot pronounces his own last name as 'Stah-bler' instead of 'Stay-bler'. In others, he pronounces it as 'Stay-bler'.