It is impossible to see the footage of the two attacks on teenagers in south Oxhey and not be moved to fury towards the attackers and pity for the victims.

The people who filmed and took part in the violence obviously feel they are taking part in something impressive, worth sharing with their friends or using to threaten others.

Anyone else can see they are nothing but cowardly, sadistic attacks on helpless victims.

Read more: Gangs film horrific attacks on girl and boy in South Oxhey

But what happens next?

There have been many comments on Facebook suggesting reprisals against the perpetrators.

However angry many of us feel, justice needs to be taken out of the hands of the community and those immediately affected.

The crimes need to be fully investigated by the police and those responsible brought before the courts.

This paper will be following the cases, and reporting on the outcomes.

In this country, most people tried in youth courts remain anonymous.

There is a good reason for this: the acts - however despicable - of children or teenagers should not continue to hang over them when they have grown up.

But even if the perpetrators' names are not known, the community will want to know they have been properly punished - that the perpetrators do not feel they have got off lightly, and hopefully that they will feel sorry for what they have done.

In our anger at the attackers, the victims must not be forgotten. They should receive the care and treatment they need to move forward in their lives, in the privacy and dignity they were denied by their attackers.

In filming these crimes, those behind them may have felt that there was a message worth sharing on social media.

They may find that there is a different message, and that it is shared far more widely than they thought.