text: Law & Order : Special Victims Unit ( often abbreviated to Law & Order : SVU ) is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City , where it is also primarily produced .
simplified: Law & Order : Special Victims Unit ( often shortened to Law & Order : SVU ) is an American television spin-off of the orginal police drama series Law & Order which is set in New York City , inside the fictional 16th precinct of Manhattan .