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Captain Declan G. Murphy is an NYPD captain who frequently goes on undercover assignments. He was also the lieutenant assigned to command the Special Victims Unit when William Lewis escaped prison and briefly afterwards until he was given an undercover mission and returned command back to Olivia Benson. In 2021, he became the commanding officer of the Hate Crimes Task Division.

Background[]

Prior to being assigned the Special Victims Unit, he was undercover as "Declan O'Rourke" at an illegal gambling station. He helps Detective Rollins keep her job when it came out that she stole a gun from the evidence locker. (SVU: "Gambler's Fallacy")

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Rollins with Declan Murphy when undercover

When William Lewis escapes from prison, NYPD assigned Murphy as the commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit due to Lewis' history with Benson. Murphy gave Sergeant Benson a 24-hour security detail; however, she gives them the slip, but they manage to track her down, but not before William Lewis shot himself. (SVU: "Beast's Obsession")

He didn't believe that "the sky was falling" with the grand jury trial. He also stood up for Benson in the trial after learning that she had started writing her retirement papers to keep her pension and to save her shield. Since he was still in charge, he asked her to stay and serve as his number two. (SVU: "Post-Mortem Blues")

Murphy later left the squad when an undercover operation required his participation, leaving Benson in command of the Special Victims Unit. (SVU: "Spring Awakening")

Murphy later returned, revealing that his undercover assignment was to infiltrate a sex trafficking ring. He spent the last several months working his way up the chain. After Benson and her team took down his immediate targets, Murphy declined to come in from the cold and return to command of SVU, instead opting to remain undercover as the new head of one of the largest sex trafficking rings on the East Coast. (SVU: "Undercover Mother")

It is revealed that Declan is the father of Amanda's baby. While taking down a sex ring in Serbia, he got word about Amanda being pregnant. Declan met with Amanda, asking if she needed him for any support. She assures Declan that things are fine, but he gave her his number anyway to help with their baby. (SVU: "Community Policing")

Six years later, Murphy continued his undercover work, subsequently being promoted to Captain of the Hate Crimes Division. Over the course, he began to lament not being in the life of his daughter. In Christmas of 2021, Murphy had to deal with a spree of hate crimes and as a result, he turns to SVU for help in solving the cases. He was reunited with Rollins and tried to reconcile with her so that he could be in Jesse's life. (SVU: "Silent Night, Hateful Night")

Appearances[]

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