Lessons of District 31 | Press

Until the end, the series broke view records by bringing more than a million viewers to their small screen from Monday to Thursday. In the age of digital platforms and catch-up viewing, this is an unrecognized feat.

Over the years, the political-legal-police conspiracies that Luke Dion envisioned have many times coincided with reality, which has made the series even more interesting.

But high quality District 31Beyond the enormous talent of well-designed plots and cast, it is undoubtedly its work of popular education.

By bringing us into the world of Commander Chiassen, Detective Sergeant Stefan Paulette, alias Poupou and Prosecutor Sonia Blanchard, the author is a world famous police and criminal law writer for the people of Quebec.

Before District 31, DPCP (Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions) Few people know the meaning of acronym. Only a handful of the general public can explain the difference between the Office of Independent Investigations and internal affairs. Or who knows how to determine the hierarchical level of Lieutenant, Major and Detective Sergeant. All these details are no longer a mystery to the average viewer District 31.

Over the course of a few weeks, Luke Dion educated the public on the police investigation process: from suspicion to arrest, interrogation (“Here’s a camera, another is there …”) and setting in charge, he took us with him. Inside the police station, ordinary human beings rarely set foot. Beyond the scope of human drama that runs in front of the police, he describes to us the work of a technician in the Forensic Identification Service, the sometimes tense relations between politics and the legal system, as well as the problematic waters maintained by swim analysts. Research for researchers.

He shed some light on the blind spots of our system, its failures and its inequalities. Even on his good shots.

Through the colorful, brutal and utterly likeable characters, the author was able to manipulate the image of police officers, which is often abused by public opinion. Quebeckers are seeking their police force for good reason. To the point, sometimes, behind the uniform, there are plays, disappointments and forget that there are humans living with a lot of stress. According to the latest information provided by the police unions, most of them are seeking mental health care. Indication that they may not have enough support in their new realities. But that is a different matter …

District 31 Beyond all the entertainment, Luke Dion’s brilliantly written fictional writing topped his game.

And when a fictional story is entertaining and told, it is worth celebrating.