The first experiments with mediation in criminal justice occurred in Britain during the 1980s. Until then, mediation had been used only, in a formal or semi-professional way, for international and labor relations and in certain civil justice matters, mostly divorce settlements. The 1980s witnessed not only the first victim-offender mediation projects, but also the first community mediation programs for neighbor disputes, the first conflict-resolution training classes for schoolchildren, the beginning of a major expansion in the use of mediation in civil justice cases, and the formation of an umbrella voluntary organization representing these new initiatives and promoting the use of mediation for all types of conflict. The following issues still need to be addressed regarding victim-offender mediation practice in Britain: cost-effectiveness; measuring the achievements of the practice, including re-offense rates and the general impact upon crime; and the relationship of restorative justice to the victim support lobby, mediators' ability to demonstrate their impartiality and their programs' benefits for victims as much as offenders. Notes, references