NYPD brass unveiled on Monday afternoon a new, state-of-the-art Special Victims Unit (SVU) facility to serve the Bronx.
First Deputy NYPD Commissioner Tania Kinsella joined Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and inside 188 West 230th St. to cut the ribbon on the building, they charge will be instrumental in tackling sex crime in the borough, but will also create a warmer, more comfortable space for victims and their families.
Police say that every aspect of construction was taken into consideration, from interview rooms to waiting areas, in order to prioritize emotional safety and well-being. Additionally, detectives will be housed alongside the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and domestic violence responders.
“This new facility co-locates NYPD SVU detectives with our partners at Safe Horizon and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, so that the moment someone walks through these doors, every bit of support they need is right there in a welcoming environment. It is a place designed to give survivors privacy and to bring everyone involved in these cases together in one setting. This is what 21st-century policing looks like – and what it means to build a survivor-focused NYPD,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The new center will replace the existing SVU currently operating out of the Fort Apache station house. While it is currently unclear why the old precinct will be used going forward, sources say it will remain a city-owned building.
According to Kinsella, this fresh space will not only provide a more welcoming environment for victims, it is also critically needed due to the caseload.
“The need for this work has been even greater. So now in 2025 the Bronx special victim squad has investigated nearly 1300 cases of sexual violence involving victims ages 13 and older, each one of our survivors who turned to us for help and who deserved a space worthy of their courage. Now they’ll have it,” Kinsella said.
DA Clark also championed the new SVU unit, pledging to aid survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
“We know that this work is important. We know that it’s needed. And those of us in law enforcement had to have a duty to stand up and fight for those victims and survivors, to see that those who have harmed them are held accountable, and that’s what we’ll be able to do here. So we have a strong partnership already with Bronx Special Victims division, and it’s going to be now even stronger as we bring justice for these victims, we stand together to do all that we can for these sexual assault survivors,” Clark said.
This comes hot on the heels of another announcement earlier this month by Commissioner Tisch that saw the allocation of 450 cops to a Domestic Violence Unit she says will allow law enforcement to concentrate on and streamline these kinds of cases.
