The discussion focuses on the scope the models offer for reparative and restorative justice approach to operate either within or beside the mainstream criminal process. The analysis considers the traditional victim-based approaches of the conventional retributive model and the welfare model, as well as three restorative justice models: the civilian model, the victim/offender reparation model, and the communitarian model. The analysis uses recent empirical findings to evaluate the victim-oriented actions associated with each model and concludes that the communitarian model is the most coherent, credible, and constructive challenger to the hitherto predominant retributive model. The communitarian model has five distinctive features. These include the involvement of victims and offenders as crucial participants in a process that is intended to have both empowering and healing potential and the delegation of power from the government to members of the community. Other features include the convening of family group conferences as the mechanism for arriving at a negotiated community response, the encouragement and empowerment of the offender and family to formulate and negotiate a plan of action that is acceptable to all other participants, and the monitoring of the implementation of the plans. Notes and 89 references (Author abstract modified)