Several main characters come together to help solve crimes in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. The hit TV show has a cult following, and many fans have been watching Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson help solve crimes in New York City for years. They are supported by a team of several co-workers in the NYPD.
Some Law and Order: SVU episodes are based on real-life cases. Others come from entirely original scripts. As the police force tries to solve cases, their varied intellects surface. Some characters prove to be smarter than others based on their actions during the investigations.
Monique Jeffries
Unlike most of the other main characters, Michelle Hurd's Jeffries only appears in a few seasons of the long-running Law and Order: SVU. As such, she is one of the less developed characters.
She showcases a lack of foresight when she sleeps with a suspect in a rape case. The foolish action results in her being let go by the force.
Elliot Stabler
Christopher Meloni's Stabler is one of the most developed characters in Law and Order: SVU. He presents smarts in his manipulation of suspects during interrogation. However, he shows a stark lack of emotional intelligence.
Stabler often flies off the handle in angry outbursts. Some fans say Stabler's temper on Law and Order: SVU has hindered his growth as a character. He acts foolishly in various investigations, bending rules to go after suspects he feels are guilty. His anger clouds his mind and leaves him with poor judgment.
Olivia Benson
Mariska Hargitay's Benson is perhaps the most richly developed character in the series. She is Stabler's partner, and the two mostly work well together. She's educated and speaks a few different languages. She shows her critical thinking when she helps solve cases, sometimes noticing things other officers overlook.
Benson is more emotionally intelligent than Stabler, but shows her moments of weakness, especially in cases reflecting her own life trauma. When she lets her emotions cloud her judgment, she is revealed as less smart than her peers.
Donald Cragen
Dann Florek plays Donald Cragen. He is the captain under whom Benson and Stabler work. Cragen is jaded by his job but is more emotionally intelligent as a result. His quote following Munch's resignation sums up his blunted personality.
He is able to use his critical thinking to detach from situations in order to do his job. He presents a type A personality that underscores his logical thinking. His quick-working mind has resulted in his climbing the ranks of the NYPD.
Odafin "Fin" Tutuola
Ice-T's Fin represents street smarts in Law and Order: SVU. He is a reformed criminal who joins the NYPD after going straight. He is partnered with Detective Munch and the two often question suspects and investigate leads together.
Fin shows his smarts in his attention to detail. Furthermore, he has a domain of knowledge from living the criminal life that other officers can't relate to. When Benson, Stabler, and Cragen sometimes hit a wall in an investigation, Fin uses his background to point out things they may have not considered.
Alexandra Cabot
Stephanie March's Cabot is the Assistant District Attorney. Her arc follows her in her important role within the legal system until she is forced to go into the Witness Protection Program after becoming too involved in a case. Cabot sometimes shows her lack of emotional intelligence when she becomes too attached to cases.
However, for the most part, she remains strictly impartial in law proceedings. Furthermore, she seems to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the law. Her attention to detail and reference to proceedings by the book underscores her intelligence.
Casey Novak
Diane Neal's Novak is the Assistant District Attorney who replaces Cabot after her exit from the show. Her quick thinking sometimes unequivocally results in cases being solved. Her intelligence is also displayed in her background.
Novak is a graduate of Harvard Law, one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. She uses her deep knowledge of the law quickly and smartly finds loopholes to make cases lean in her preferred direction.
John Munch
Richard Belzer plays Detective Munch. Munch is a passionate detective, but usually doesn't let his emotions curb his reasoning. He shows his smarts in his character development. Munch is knowledgeable on several subjects outside of police work.
His background of interest in conspiracy theories and underground subcultures helps uncover details about crimes ignored by some of his colleagues. Some fans might have missed that Munch is bilingual on Law and Order: SVU. His intelligence is perhaps highlit most when he takes the sergeant exam on a lark and passes with ease.
Melinda Warner
Tamara Tunie's Warner is a medical examiner on the NYPD. She works for the Special Victims Unit and appears most often following autopsies and scientific procedures like DNA analysis. Her high level of intelligence is implicit in her role.
She shows her critical thinking on dozens of occasions to determine scientific analyses. She has a background of rigorous education which has sharpened her reasoning and attention to detail. Many crimes could not be solved without Warner's knowledge and skills.
George Huang
BD Wong plays Huang. He is the forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler on the SVU team. He showcases his keen intelligence in dozens of interviews of suspects. Benson and Stabler often flippantly write off or condemn suspects, while Huang points out their lack of critical thinking with his analysis.
He is incredibly emotionally intelligent and rarely lets his feelings interfere with the logic required in his work. He is bilingual and often spouts facts with ease from subjects outside the police and psychiatry field.