Practices and programs reflecting restorative purposes respond to crime and other offences by:

1. Identify and take steps to repair harm. Three types of harm are typically associated with offences. The first is personal harm: the material, physical, emotional, psychological, and/or spiritual harm experienced by victims, offenders, and their communities. The second is relational harm: the harm done to the relationships between and surrounding victims and offenders (including to families, friends, neighbours and other members of their “communities of care”). The third is ethical or moral harm: the harms resulting when norm violations lead to losses of trust in fellow citizens and in authorities, causing loss of trust in fellow citizens and in the authorities’ capacity to secure public safety and order.
2. Invite all stakeholders. The stakeholders in a society’s response to crime and other offences include those who have been harmed or who have caused harm. These include victims, offenders, their “communities of care” (families and friends), their communities (neighbourhoods and communities of interest), and their governments.
3. Seek transformation. Communities and governments are two expressions of a society. They play complementary roles in responding to individual offences, victims, and offenders as well as in working to prevent future crimes. The primary strength of a community in responding to crime and other offences lies in caring networks of relationships characterized by mutual respect and commitment. The primary strength of government lies in its ability to ensure both civil order and orderly procedures, using force when necessary.