The inclusion of a mediation component could help resolve personal conflicts between the defendant and the victim or between the defendant and other persons relating to him. While presentence mediation efforts would include reconciliation services for victims and offenders, the scope of services would be expanded and placed under the aegis of the local probation agency. Presentence mediators would not impose decisions on parties, but rather would encourage the parties to voluntarily work through their differences. Restitution agreements arrived at through mediation would be advisory. Confidentiality safeguards would be built into the mediation process which would generally exclude recidivists and violent offenders. 2 notes and 28 references