Policy planning in the Home Office has been described as policy analysis as opposed to corporate planning. It identifies the issues, defines the objectives, and analyzes the ways to achieve them, without major emphasis on resource planning and allocation. The CPPU is charged with assisting in the fields of crime prevention, the administration of criminal justice, and the treatment of offenders. It is a small unit freed from ordinary day-to-day administrative responsibilities and available for assignments designed to either examine aspects of the criminal justice system as a whole or look at issues of special significance to that system but in some way outside the ambit of a conventional Home Office Division. The first publication of the CPPU reviewed events of the previous decade, offered a statistical description of the criminal justice system, and suggested future areas of major effort. The CPPU then undertook a long-term planning exercise which sought to project trends current in 1977 forward over the next decade. The CPPU has also been engaged in developing a model of the criminal justice system, coordinating research activities, and preparing evidence. Five references are included.