Nearly two weeks on following the beginning of four nights of rioting, almost everybody has had a view regarding what should be done to ensure that there is no repeat of the violence which shocked and appalled the entire nation.
Of all the comment and analysis from the political and chattering classes, Simon Marcus, who runs a boxing academy in Tottenham and was a Conservative candidate at the last General Election has for me, given the most moving and quite brilliant analysis on the issue so far.
Attention now by some in the media are focusing on the severity of the sentences handed down to those who took part in the riots. The Guardian today has some very interesting analysis on the sentences handed down to date.
With 8 out of 10 people supporting the tough stance on the sentences handed to rioters it seems some still haven't captured the public mood. It seems odd that those on the left who were decrying Ken Clarke for being too lenient on sentencing are now saying that punishments handed to the rioters are too severe.
Maybe those who are advocating these lighter sentences should face the family in Tottenham, who nearly two weeks on, only have the clothes on their backs and the thousands petrified in local communities across England.
Or the local businessman in Clapham, who is struggling to keep his business alive while their is a shortage of glazers to repair the broken windows to his shop.
Even the 750 workers at the Sony Distribution Centre in Enfield who lost their jobs as the building was set alight by looters or possibly the Reeves family who saw their 140 year old family business go up in smoke in Croydon.
How about 180+ police officers who were injured during the disturbances and fireman who came under attack from thugs as they tried to put out their fires.
Better still, the family and friends of the five who sadly perished as they mourn and bury their loved ones.
The list is endless. Still think the rioters deserve lenient sentences?
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