When someone reports a crime, RJ City investigates it using an inquisitorial approach rather than an adversarial one.  It then guides parties into one of two processes for addressing issues related to the crime. The cooperative process is used when the parties agree to work together in determining the claims and responsibilities arising out of the offence. This is considered the typical response to individual cases of crime. The adjudicative process is used when the parties choose to have an outside authority make the decisions involved in dealing with the crime and its harms.

The RJ Network’s primary goal is to ensure comprehensive responses to crime and the harms resulting from it. In the Network’s view, a comprehensive response includes reparation, vindication, accountability, and reintegration.

Strategies for accomplishing this goal include providing for party-to-party encounters, providing for encounters between the parties with the assistance of a facilitator, and when needed providing outside authorities to decide on how restoration can best be sought. The first two strategies are used when the parties choose to engage with each other in response to a crime. The third is limited to those times when an adjudicative component is required, either instead of or in addition to a cooperative process. If the parties are unwilling or unable to reach mutual agreement using cooperative processes, the matter is referred to adjudicative processes. In adjudicative processes, and only if necessary, coercion may be used in order to secure the presence of essential parties. However, at all times during an adjudicative process, the parties are free to initiate or renew efforts at a cooperative resolution. In addition, collaborative processes may take place within an adjudicative process, such as when a judge delays sentencing until the parties and their communities of care have engaged in dialogue about how the victim’s needs could best be met.