A violent criminal was granted bail multiple times before going on to allegedly shoot a man during a home invasion.

His final successful bail application came after he had allegedly pointed a loaded gun at a police officer, prompting a scathing assessment of the magistrate by one of the state's most senior Supreme Court judges.

The decision in April to allow Stephen Jake Spiteri​ to remain free was made even though a Supreme Court justice branded him a "danger to the community" and rated the chance of him not committing another offence while on bail as "close to zero".

The case is the latest in a series of incidents that has left Victoria Police increasingly frustrated about the lenient penalties given to armed criminals, amid claims the judiciary has failed to grasp the severity of the problem of gun crime, and the daily threat it poses to officers.

Justice Paul Coghlan​ delivered a withering rebuke to Magistrate Megan Aumair​, who had released Spiteri on bail following "impressive" guarantees from the accused's father that he would not reoffend.

"She's been in the job for five minutes ... It's starting to show how little this magistrate knew about anything," Justice Coghlan said in previously unpublished transcripts from Spiteri's bail appeal hearing.

He's a danger to the community, that's what he is.

See, I reckon the risk's enormous. And I reckon the chance of him not re-offending is close to zero, but that's not going to be - what my private view of what I think about these sort of cases isn't going to be how I'm going to determine the case at the end of the day.

The next step is something really, really serious because it's the pulling of the trigger.

How many chances are you entitled to have?

- Justice Coghlan on Stephen Spiteri

Justice Coghlan then predicted that Spiteri was almost certain to reoffend.

"[Spiteri's] been in possession of three pistols in 18 months. Come on … He's a danger to the community, that's what he is... And I reckon the chance of him not reoffending is close to zero... How many chances are you entitled to have?" he said.

Justice Coghlan's warnings proved prescient. Just three months after this damning assessment, Spiteri allegedly stormed a home in Deer Park with an associate and shot a man multiple times in the leg.

It is the fifth time in two years the 25-year-old has been charged or convicted for committing a serious offence while on bail or serving a community corrections order, nearly all of which involved firearms.

Courts have been granting bail to offenders accused of serious weapons offences, some of whom have re-armed themselves and committed other violent crimes while awaiting trial.

There is also mounting frustration at the perceived lenient penalties being handed out to those who are being convicted.

In the Magistrates Court of Victoria, less than a quarter of offenders convicted of carrying a prohibited weapon between 2011 and 2014 received a custodial sentence.

For "prohibited persons" - those who have previous convictions for gun or violence offences - less than half were sent to prison after being found guilty of possessing an unregistered firearm.

In February, Spiteri and two accomplices were allegedly caught raiding a marijuana grow house in Truganina. When confronted, Spiteri allegedly pointed a 9mm semi-automatic handgun that was "ready to be fired" at police, dropping the weapon when the officer charged at him.

Spiteri applied for bail in March before Magistrate Aumair, a former Bendigo solicitor who had been appointed to the bench in late 2015.

Magistrate Aumair had already granted bail to Spiteri's two co-accused despite both men having a string of gun and violence convictions, including possession of a sawn-off shotgun, attempting to pervert the course of justice and drug trafficking.

While noting the seriousness of the charges, Magistrate Aumair released Spiteri on bail because of his young age, strong family support, the potential for a lengthy delay before coming to trial, and the fact that his co-accused had already been bailed.

"Your father came to court today to give very, very impressive evidence and you need to be very grateful for that," she said.

"I consider you to be a risk, Mr Spiteri, but with strict conditions I will concede that the risk is acceptable, but you need to show the court and the community that the faith I'm going to [indistinct] is well founded."

The decision was immediately appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions amid outrage from police officers involved in the case.

At the appeal hearing in late March, Supreme Court Justice Coghlan blasted Magistrate Aumair's handling of the case but ultimately decided not to revoke Spiteri's bail despite expressing grave concerns about the risk he posed to the community.

She's been in the job for five minutes.

It's starting to show how little this magistrate knew about anything.

- Justice Coghlan on Magistrate Aumair

In the courtroom, he noted that Magistrate Aumair had apparently failed to follow basic procedures and placed undue emphasis on testimony from Spiteri's father that he would be able to control his son's behaviour, alleging the magistrate's "inexperience" had been exploited.

But in his published judgment, Justice Coghlan was far more reserved, dismissing the DPP's application to revoke Spiteri's bail while simultaneously noting he "doubted" he would have granted bail to him in the first place.

"Her Honour [Magistrate Aumair] was entitled to come to the conclusion that the risks which [Spiteri] represented could be sufficiently ameliorated by the imposition of strict conditions," he decided.

After the alleged shooting in Deer Park in July, Spiteri was arrested and charged with 10 new offences by the Armed Crime Squad.

It was a possibility Justice Coghlan had foreshadowed during the bail hearing.

"The next step really is, isn't it - the next step is something really, really serious because it's the pulling of the trigger."