Dennis E. Bolen

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"Stupid Crimes" Sex, Humour and Violence in a Parole Office by Linda Alexander Corr Tech Quarterly When was the last time you ever read a book about a probation or parole officer? Have you ever read one? Private investigators, lawyers, the police, even judges, are all the heroes of books, films and television. Probation and parole officers are an invisible component of the criminal justice system. I've actually started keeping a list a couple of years ago- and it's short. For instance, there was a probation officer interviewing Dustin Hoffman for a PSR in the film Hero, but the role was a foolish caricature. I read an Elmore Leonard book earlier this year, and the probation officer was a very young woman ("well-intentioned but naive") who was sexually harassed by lawyers and a judge. When I queried my colleagues, Rob Chong told me about a vintage Perry Mason television episode where the accused stands up in Court and shouts "The probation officer did it!" And Chris Thomson remembered a short lived television series about a parole officer in Los Angeles, but he couldn't recall the name of the show. No wonder no one in the real world knows we're out there! Imagine my surprise, then, when I came across a new novel in my favourite Granville Island bookstore- not only about a parole officer but written by one. Dennis Bolen has been a federal parole officer in B.C. for fifteen years. He also has a masters degree in Fine Arts from U.B.C. although he has published fiction in a number of Canadian magazines, Stupid Crimes is his first published novel. I bought the book on the spot and had it finished by the next day. This is an excellent read. The main character in the book is Barry Delta, a federal parole officer in the Lower Mainland. The story is sometimes funny and sexy, other times disturbing and violent, but the similarities of Delta's caseload to our own are immediately apparent. Delta himself is a refreshing change from the usual male hero interacting with a criminal underworld. Through his encounters, we meet a realistic, flawed (and strangely charismatic) person. "Barry Delta has glimpsed madness. Yet, he would be wise enough to say, he has not seen all of madness. Only someone completely sane would be foolish enough to say they had." Bolen moves the reader through rather loosely plotted vignettes, in which Delta interacts with clients, colleagues and women. Some of the chapters are written from the point of view of the parolees themselves and are among the most poignant and insightful passages in the book. Yet reading Bolen can be hard work. Eavesdropping into the lives and minds of these characters feels like listening to a John Campbell blues tape or reading an Andrew Vachs sex crime novel. These are people from the dark side of the street. Barry Delta has his favourites (just as we do on our own caseloads), and the novel does a fine job of exploring the fine line which divides the accused from the accuser. "Barry Delta knows that this is not a dangerous job. Sure, he deals with killers, thieves and desperate characters all the time. But an overriding shred of common sense seems to govern all of them, even the dumbest ones: You don't piss in your own pocket. Most will do their damage outside the parole office." The book has its faults. Sometimes the dialogue is difficult, and I found the ending awkward. Nevertheless, Dennis Bolen has written a compelling story which was impossible for me to put down. Bolen has already sold the film rights to his novel, and he says another Barry Delta book is in the works. I was delighted to find (at last) a book which describes our jobs and our caseloads as they actually are. Barry Delta, if not a superstar, is our antihero, and Stupid Crimes is a start toward setting the record straight. ©Corr Tech Quarterly

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