Nearly all paroling authorities have had to confront the issue of overcrowding and to decide whether to consider population issues in making policy or individual case decisions. Developing an explicit policy for release decisionmaking is an important method for dealing with this problem. Developing explicit policy to guide individual decisions is also a way to improve the exercise of discretion. The subject of risk management involves the ethical problems involved in assessing an individual offender's risk to society, the possibility of error, the need to develop risk assessment instruments within clear policy goals, and the need for an instrument to meet established technical standards. Parole must also operate within explicit policy guidelines and must recognize the issue of legal liability.