This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws mainly on the restorative justice literature to identify and explores the theoretical justifications for community participation in restorative processes, and to problematise the role of community in restorative justice. Restorative justice's appeals to community, sit within a wider 'late modern' criminal justice landscape where the limitations of the state's capacity to control crime have become ever more apparent. The book attempts to explore the fact that current forms of community participation in criminal justice practice are too superficial to enable meaningful outcomes so one needs to find more meaningful ways of involving the community. The question of whether the community should be involved in modern criminal justice practice is an outdated one; the institutions of the jury and the lay magistracy in England and Wales, show that participatory democracy has long been at the heart of criminal justice systems.