THE new school year begins this week. Thousands of children will be catching up with classmates, meeting new teachers and looking forward to an exciting future.

Not Jerome Barrett. The 15-year-old is starting a stretch at a very different institution after being locked up for a string of crimes.

Barrett is not yet old enough to get married but he has notched up a criminal career to rival that of offenders twice his age. His latest appearance before the courts came after he robbed a man at knifepoint in his bedroom.

Twice before Barrett has been sentenced to detention and training orders, but he flouted them repeatedly. Now he has run out of chances. Judge Paul Hoffman ordered him to be detained indefinitely.

This tougher approach is precisely what society has been demanding for years. Neighbours plagued by junior thugs were left to suffer as the likes of Barrett were able to defy anything the court could throw at them. It was wretched for the victims and exasperating for the police.

The benefits of this new law are immediate. Barrett has been removed from the streets he tormented; the public is protected.

Open-ended custody could be the making of the tearaway too. Barrett knows he must mend his ways to win freedom.

Hopefully, this will be enough to bring a troubled young man back on track and rescue his future.

Updated: 11:32 Monday, September 05, 2005