The origin of the VSS in Britain was an interprofessional study group established in Bristol in 1969 by the Bristol Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, specifically to explore the status of crime victims in the criminal justice system. The group interviewed crime victims and identified a major gap in welfare services for crime victims. The South West Council of the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders then established a working party to plan and implement a pilot project for victim services in a selected geographical area. From this pilot project, a number of VSS grew until the need for a national association was apparent. The National Association of Victims Support Schemes became operational in 1979. At that time, there were 30 VSS. Five years later the number had increased to over 250. Three issues have and continue to shape the victims support agenda: firstly, the pragmatic and effective way a consensus was formed around VSS to ensure a broad support base; secondly, the strengths and weaknesses of voluntarism; and thirdly, the choice to focus on victims and to avoid taking any public partisan stance on other criminal justice issues.