A third of Britons believe the government's response to the riots has been too hasty, a new poll by YouGov has find.
And the vast majority - 70% - support halting police cuts as a response to last week's disorder.
A quarter of respondents said the coalition's response had been "about right", 33 per cent said they were "hasty and badly thought-through".
The public are widely supportive of measures such as asking youths to remove facial coverings as a response to the riots, proposed evictions of convicted rioters living in council houses and banning them from twitter and facebook.
While 71% of Britons surveyed support removing rioters' benefits, work and pensions minister Chris Grayling has reportedly said the move would be "legally complicated":
"I think people certainly are expecting action to be taken. We are currently looking at the different options. We are not yet in a position to say exactly what we are going to do.
"It's legally complicated, but I think there is a general desire to see those people who were involved in the riots not get away with it and to face real consequences."
The news comes after work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith claimed the riots were a "turning point" for the coalition and would have the same impact on David Cameron's policy as 9/11 had on Tony Blair.