Bail justices say they have been hung out to dry after being blamed for releasing alleged killer Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas six days before the Bourke Street rampage.
Mr Gargasoulas had been released on bail to attend the Magistrates Court last Friday, the day he allegedly mowed down pedestrians in the CBD.
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Melbourne mourns Bourke Street victims
A simple story from student Henry Dow encapsulates the resilience and bravery of pedestrians in the midst of the chaos during the attack on Burke Street.
On Monday morning, Premier Daniel Andrews announced his government would set up new 'night courts' where magistrates can hear bail applications that are opposed by police.
A review of all bail laws, including the role of bail justices, has been ordered.
Two bail justices who did not want to be named spoke to Fairfax Media separately and said they were hurt and angry after calls for their jobs to be scrapped.
"We have been hung out to dry by so many people at the moment and we feel it's totally unfair and not true," one said.
"It's unfair to say the system of bail justices is broken and therefore it needs to be scrapped. It's just unfair. We're highly trained professional volunteers and just as you might have a magistrate that can make an error, the same things can happen with bail justices."
He said they felt for the families and friends of the victims, and felt sympathy for the bail justice that made the decision last Saturday at the St Kilda police station.
He said only the bail justice and police in the hearing would be privy to the reasons why Mr Gargasoulas was released.
"We work under extremely difficult circumstances. We're the first point of call. We see the accused just a few hours after they're arrested and we cop the sharp end of it all."
He said having a magistrate on call was not going to change a thing.
"It will not make any difference in the world ... decisions will not change. They will grant bail to individuals," he said.
Former bail justice Annette Stockman said she felt "enormous sympathy" for the person who made the decision to grant bail to Mr Gargasoulas.
"They will have to live with this decision for years. People also need to be mindful that our justice system relies on judgment and no system will be faultless. Blaming individuals who are acting in good faith may also deter people from taking on these difficult roles that our community relies on," said Ms Stockman, who resigned as a bail justice last month.
Bail justices are volunteers who are called in after-hours – often in the dead of the night – in the hours immediately after a person is charged by police to decide if they should bail or remand suspects to face a court.
There are about 260 qualified bail justices in Victoria with a percentage on a rotating roster to respond to call-outs.
A bail justice who works in country Victoria said he had had suspects spit, lunge and swear at him.
He said he remanded 95 per cent of suspects who came before him.
"In all honesty, I've never gone home and regretted a decision I've made," he said.
He said anyone on a murder or commercial drug trafficking charge would be automatically remanded, while for others he weighs up prior history, whether they're on bail, police evidence, risk to the community and the reasons the accused might give them for release.
"They normally talk themselves back into the cells," he said.
Retired bail justice and Melbourne University lecturer Dr Rob Mealyea oversaw 1500 hearings during six years of service. He believes there were a number of bail justices that were "too liberal" with the Bail Act.
"They have a good understanding of the Act, training is good, but human nature comes into it and they start sympathising with the criminal," Dr Mealyea said.
"But the time a bail justice gets called in, it's almost an automatic remand because they've got such a history of violence. Police can bail, but they can't bail recidivist offenders," Dr Mealyea said.
He said he loved "bouncing out of bed" at all hours of the morning.
"You're a magistrate. Once you walk into the station you are the magistrate. You are holding court," he said.
With Richard Willingham