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Special Victims Unit

Frank Murphy Hall of Justice
1441 St. Antoine
11th Floor
Detroit, MI 48226

The Special Victims Unit (SVU) was developed to handle the specialized vertical prosecution (the same Assistant Prosecuting Attorney handles all stages of the prosecution whenever possible) of cases involving some of society's most vulnerable victims. The Assistant Prosecutors and Victim Advocates in this unit have specialized training and typically prosecute crimes involving domestic violence, sexual assault or victims of non-sexual crimes who require specialized handling, such as the very young, the elderly and/or or vulnerable adults. Members of the SVU are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to handle both in-custody and not-in-custody warrants, to answer questions, sign search warrants, and to generally provide assistance to law enforcement agencies.

For any questions, please contact:

Debra Baginski
Executive Assistant
(313) 224-6647


The Special Victims Unit includes the following units:
The Domestic Violence Unit prosecutes crimes involving assault that arise from an intimate domestic relationship.
The Child Abuse Unit prosecutes crimes involving a child victim or witness.
The Elder Abuse Unit vertically prosecutes cases where the victim is at least 65 years of age and /or a vulnerable adult.
The Sexual Assault Team (SAT) vertically prosecutes all sexual assault cases.
The Sexual Assault Kit (SAK) Task Force was formed to investigate and prosecute cases stemming from the discovery of over 11,000 untested sexual assault kits housed in the Detroit Police Department annexed property storage facility.
Fair Michigan Justice Project is a Michigan non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of the LGBTQ community. It provides a Special Assistant Prosecutor who vertically prosecutes felony cases involving LGBTQ victims of crimes.
The Animal Protection Unit (APU) is a vertical prosecution unit that focuses the prosecution of all crimes involving animals.