It was a relief last week to hear, albeit belatedly, that politicians were addressing themselves to our shameful habit of summer rioting.
Given that schools are almost out for the summer holidays and that the evenings are longer, and occasionally warmer, we can anticipate that the young will soon hit the streets in certain areas of Belfast.
These young people, in the name of some imagined slight or insult, will be ready to destroy other people's property and wreck the infrastructure barely replaced (with taxpayer's money) after the last bout of frenzied rioting.
If those with power would get a move on, there might just be time to prevent a repetition of this mindless vandalism so drearily predictable over the past few years. However politician's entreaties, no matter how sincere, will not stop the rioters. What is needed is an agreed strategy which has a resourced action plan for all the agencies, individuals and groups who have a role in solving the problem.
Firstly all the politicians from all the parties should leave their differences aside and come together to make it clear that street riots will not be tolerated.
This has to happen before trouble brews, because we know from past experience that when the riots start local politicians have a tendency to defend their own constituents and blame the other side for starting the trouble.
Once this occurs their comments, albeit uttered with the best intentions, can appear to inflame rather than defuse the situation. This is why it is important that politicians send out with one voice the unambiguous message that sectarian street rioting is no longer acceptable.
Next step is to put a system in place that swiftly and effectively deals with local difficulties and grievances. It should not be beyond the capacity of those familiar with interface areas to devise some kind of organisation, staffed by trusted workers, to represent the appropriate communities. Complaints could be sorted before they fester into confrontations.
Local people should staff the centres and their neutrality should be sacrosanct.
It has been argued that some of the rioting is caused by boredom.
There is no doubt that youth craves risk and excitement. If you live in an area where you are constantly reminded that your community is under siege from the other side, then rioting must be an exciting, challenging way to express your frustrations.
So, vital to the success of the strategy is a comprehensive programme of summer activities in each community designed to interest and engage the young people and ideally designed by them. If they are getting their adrenaline kick from abseiling, canoeing, footballing, or even learning skills to improve their employment prospects, at the simplest level they are not going to have the same energy to riot the night away. There has to be a continuum of provision with a well publicised campaign so that parents and children know what is on offer. There also has to be an expectation throughout the communities that the young will avail of these excellent opportunities.
Communities, and in particular the parents of the rioters, need to make it crystal clear that sectarian street fights will no longer be tolerated.
Then there is the key element of policing and processing of rioters through the criminal justice system. Again this is something where it is essential that the policy needs to be agreed and publicised well in advance.
Surely this year we will not again have the shame of the world's media showing young people attack and destroy police vehicles.
Now is the time for community and police to agree policy and practices around the apprehension and treatment of rioters. Once agreement has been reached the community must drop its ambivalence and be up-front in supporting the police in its public- order role.
Those who choose to riot should swiftly face the consequences of their actions by, for example, a fast-track process into court.
It needs one body to take responsibility for coordinating existing provision, spearheading new developments in an agreed strategy and obtaining the necessary resources. District Policing Partnerships surely have a key role to play, as does Local Strategic Partnerships.
Wouldn't it be nice to have a peaceful summer with only the sun, and not burning buildings, generating the heat.
