Planning is an orderly method of decisionmaking which emphasizes the identification and selection of action courses which offer the greatest possibility for achieving desired goals. Reasons for planning include the solving of problems and improving present conditions, anticipating the future, the development of a coordinating mechanism, efficient allocation of resources, and providing guidance for reactions to changing conditions. Characteristics of good planning are that it is continuous, participatory (involves those receiving services), integrated, coordinated, realistic, and experimental. The Illinois Law Enforcement Commission has adopted a planning format that local planners should use as a guide. It consists of the following steps: (1) definition of overall goal, (2) delineation of standards, (3) data collection and analysis, (4) identification of problems, (5) determination of action, (6) development of action program, (7) implementation and control of action programs, and (8) evaluation and feedback. To plan effectively for criminal justice services at the local level, local governments may find it advantageous to develop, with the assistance of their regional criminal justice planners, a plan with the following basic elements: an analysis of crime and the local criminal justice system to determine where crime is occurring and how the system is dealing with it, statements about how the system should be performing, identified problems, identified goals, and the development of programs and projects. Illustrations of the planning process are provided, along with a planning checklist for local government officials and a glossary of terms for criminal justice planning. For part 1, see NCJ 82375.