To determine the unwritten decisionmaking criteria used by the board in practice, 266 parole hearings were observed, and interviews were conducted with board members to obtain their perceptions of decisonmaking criteria. The relationships between a wide range of factors and the parole decision were analyzed. The factors found to have the strongest impact on the parole decision were the inmates' plans should they be released, the severity of the current offense, previous criminal record, and the existence of drug or alcohol problems. The report relates these factors to the board's apparent paroling policy. The policy is to parole persons when no clear reason exists not to release them. Failure to grant parole is usually based on the board's perception that the inmate is still a serious threat to society, that the inmate needs further institutional treatment, and that a more lengthy imprisonment is needed as retribution or punishment for the crime committed. Whether a structured or guideline approach to decisionmaking is desirable is also discussed. While actual or potential inequities in the current approach would favor the development of a formal decisionmaking policy, the board's strong opposition to this approach appears to make it inadvisable. In some cases, the lack of available information was a more pressing problem than the lack of stated decisionmaking criteria. Tabular data and four references are provided. A list of current offenses is appended.