A boy has been bailed five times by courts after he was arrested for alleged offences including robbery and making and distributing indecent images of children, the Metropolitan Police have revealed. 

The 17-year-old was also reported missing while on court bail and wearing an electronic tag.

It is understood that between June and September the teenager was arrested on suspicion of two robberies, making and distributing indecent images of children, and two separate breaches of his tag conditions.

Four of the alleged offences and breaches took place while he was on court bail and following the most recent arrest, police officers spent 23-hour shifts reviewing indecent images found on two electronic devices.

The teenager was charged but the courts once again granted him bail.

Detective Sergeant Wess Kalam, who led the investigation, said: 'Our officers have repeatedly arrested this individual, put him before the courts and presented the risks we believe he poses.

'It is incredibly frustrating for those officers to see him repeatedly released on bail, only to be arrested again for further alleged offending or breaches.

'We continually work to make decisions which prioritise victim safety, but when an individual we have arrested and remanded is released back into the community, it both limits the impact we can have and increases the risk to the public.'

He added that while officers will continue to act whenever offences or breaches are reported, with the rise in demand for officers cases like this one 'demonstrate the very real challenges we face in managing repeat suspects and preventing further harm'.  

On Thursday, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley hit out at the courts for bailing a paedophile to his flat near a playground.

Zafer Dogan, 32, had used computer software to make obscene AI images from photographs that he had secretly taken of women and children.

Sir Mark also fiercely criticised the courts last month in the case of Simon Levy, 41, which saw catastrophic police and court failures leave the registered sex offender free to kill twice and commit a series of sex attacks.

Regarding the teenager released on bail, the Met said: 'Despite repeated arrests, further offending and breaches while on bail, he has continued to be released back into the community.

'This case demonstrates the difficulty officers face in managing repeat suspects and protecting the public when remand applications do not result in continued detention.'