Repairing that harm involves the participation of the victim and the community, as both have roles and responsibilities in restorative justice. Restorative approaches provide timely interventions, remedies and consequences that satisfy people that justice has been served and restore balance to the community affected by the crime. There are a variety of restorative justice approaches which can be used at any stage in the criminal justice process, from before a decision is made to lay charges until the offender completes any sentence that has been imposed by a court. These programs can be used as part of an informal out of court process, after sentencing or while the offender is incarcerated. Circles are inclusive processes where the entire community is encouraged to participate in expressing thoughts and feelings about an offence and finding a remedy that will promote healing.
Circles often function as a pre-sentence advisory process for the court.
This approach brings victim, offender and their support groups together with a trained facilitator to reach an agreement about the harm caused by the crime. The similarity between these models is that they all focus on the incident and encourage accountability for behavior while aiming to repair the harm to victims and the community. Emphasis is placed on the victim's role in the proceedings and the victim's experience and perspective are central so that offenders are made aware of the consequences of their behavior by hearing directly from those affected.