Although Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) urbansettlements and mixed neighborhoods have a reputation forendemic violence, many local observers report someimprovements in urban safety and security over recent years.These are attributed to both political-economic factors,including economic growth, an improved employment outlook,and the successful removal of former raskols, or criminalgangs, by business-oriented settlers, and also toinstitutional factors, such as the failure of criminal gangsto become institutionalized and the ability of localleadership to prevent the escalation of ethnic conflict andyouth-related crime.This report examines the capabilities ofmediation institutions in mixed settlements where themajority of the population of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG)largest cities live and work. This report focuses onmediation in mixed settlements, where the majority of thepopulation of PNG’s cities live. Three dimensions ofinstitutional capability are considered: i) efficiency(accessibility, affordability, timeliness, andsustainability), ii) power and authority, and iii) outcomesand legitimacy. Although the results are preliminary, asthis initial investigation focused on, What is there and howit works, the research reveals significant differences inoutcomes for different groups that need further clarification.