BOSTON — Boston police say they’ve finally hauled in a 55-year-old career burglar accused of ripping through South End storefronts — but the real question is how long he’ll actually stay locked up in Massachusetts’ revolving-door justice system.

Just after midnight Wednesday, officers on patrol near Mass Ave and Newbury Street spotted a man matching the description of a burglary suspect wanted in connection with a rash of break-ins. A quick records check confirmed it: Thomas Patak of Boston, already sitting on four outstanding warrants.

The warrants paint a familiar picture — two charges of breaking and entering at night for a felony, one charge of malicious destruction of property under $1,200, and another for larceny from a building. Police say Patak had become tied to a wave of South End burglaries that’s left shops boarded up and neighborhoods rattled.

Cops cuffed him on the spot and hauled him to Boston Municipal Court. But in a city drowning in repeat offenders, arrests often mean little more than paperwork. Business owners and residents alike are left bracing for the possibility that the suspect could be dumped back onto the same streets he’s accused of terrorizing.

For the South End, it’s another reminder of a crime crisis that shows no signs of slowing — a city where thieves smash, grab, and return, while justice stalls.