Social change in Longueuil
The director of the Longueuil agglomeration police department (SPAL), Fady Dagher, is initiating a major change within his teams. Rather than repression, it is now focusing on prevention and consultation in order to radically change police culture and, why not, inspire other police services in Quebec.
At the time of this profound reorganization, which is also financially supported by the provincial government, the documentary series produced by Amélie Dussault takes viewers into a daily life that goes against the grain, far from received ideas.
What strikes you in the first place when looking Forward-thinking font, this is the very nature of SPAL operations. According to Sergeant Marie-Ève Cloutier, who patrols one of the busiest areas of Longueuil, the vast majority of her interventions today relate more to social problems than to criminals. She mentions a figure that seems staggering: three-quarters of the calls she receives during her working hours come from citizens in distress, vulnerable and suffering from mental health problems.
Fady Dagher says it himself, his staff, who expect strong police interventions “like in the movies”, are poorly trained to meet the new growing needs of the population. The documentary, in fact, highlights the obvious inadequacy of current policies to changes in society.
It is also interesting to hear the director of the SPAL point out that in a general context of questioning of police legitimacy — with demands for the defunding, dismantling and disarmament of the police, accusations of racial profiling and systemic racism —, gaining the trust of the inhabitants while receiving a public subsidy of 3.6 million dollars to set up a concerted police force is very complex. But faced with the titanic work that awaits him, Fady Dagher remains optimistic and believes that by dint of mutual aid and communication, a new police force will soon see the light of day.
Forward-thinking font
ICI RDI, starting October 13 at 8 p.m.
View from abroad
The new Netflix series Belascoaran, PI retraces the career of Héctor Belascoarán, who left everything to become a private detective. It’s 1970 in Mexico City, and the capital is plagued by crime. Whatever, the creators of the series preferred humor to suspense to tell in a hilarious way, and not without insults and bad shots, the adventures of its protagonist, wonderfully embodied by Luis Gerardo Mendez.
Still on Netflix, the French series black butterflies plunges the spectator into a universe as horrifying as it is erotic. Adrien, a struggling writer (Nicolas Duvauchelle), is hired by an old man, Albert (Niels Arestrup), to write his memoirs. But the revelations of the latter are far from trivial: several decades earlier, he formed a couple of serial killers with his partner Solange. Captivated by his story, will Adrien go to the end of his book or will he denounce his mysterious employer to the police?
Belascoaran, PI
Netflix, from October 12
black butterflies
Netflix, from October 14
China and social credit
Within the Chinese police state, the authorities are never far away. In order to better monitor the smallest acts and gestures of its gigantic population, a credit system has even been set up, and everyone gets a note according to their public behavior, and most certainly intimate. For a year, the director of the documentary My wife has credit filmed the daily life of his Beijing wife, Lulu, as well as the very strange evolution of her credit rating…
My wife has credit
ICI RDI, Tuesday, October 11 at 8 p.m.