Queensland warehouse robbery, cops’ fail caught CCTV

Wild footage of an alleged robbery has captured two men casually loading items into a car before easily fleeing police.

The ease with which two masked criminals were able to rob a Queensland hardware store and flee police has been revealed in dramatic CCTV footage.

A security camera stationed outside the store captured the brazen break-and-enter about 1.30am on October 14 in the Gold Coast suburb of Bigger Waters.

Queensland Police say the assailants drove a black Mazda with false number plates and broke into the store by damaging a door.

The person who shared a video of the incident online has claimed thieves made off with “thousands of dollars worth” of power tools and electronics during the 11-minute raid.

The officer kicks out at the fleeing vehicle.

“This is the ‘tough on crime’ effort our Australian tax dollars buys,” they wrote.

In the footage, two men in back clothes and masks can be seen casually loading stolen items into a dark coloured car parked outside for several minutes.

Then, suddenly another vehicle appears at the end of a carpark and drives at speed toward them.

The men react swiftly when what is revealed to be an unmarked police vehicle stops alongside them, with the thieves seen jumping into their car and taking off within 10 seconds.

The thieves react when the police officers approach.

Only one of two officers exits the police vehicle before the assailants flee – he can be seen aiming a despairing kick at the dark vehicle as it shoots past him.

The other officer then exits the car and the duo begin inspecting the scene.

They don’t give chase, potentially due to the strict pursuit protocols Queensland Police officers have to abide.

Queensland Police Service’s safe driving policy states pursuits should only be “commenced or continued where the benefit to the community of apprehending the offender outweighs the risks”.

Police canvassed the scene after allowing the alleged robbers to flee.

The user who shared the video on Reddit was critical that the thieves were “bascially allowed to drive away without so much as an ounce of effort from police”.

“The two individuals have at this time not yet been identified.”

Others who commented on the thread defended the police response, saying officers had to make a “split second” decision to give chase or not.

“Police chases sometimes end in crashes that kill,” one wrote.

“That’s why nowadays they’ll only give chase when the suspect is an immediate danger to the public.”

Queensland Police said the two suspects gained access to the business by damaging a door of the Brisbane Rd property.

“Once inside, the suspects have stolen cash and products,” a spokesperson said.

“Upon police arriving, the suspect fled the scene in a black Mazda station wagon, bearing false number plates.

“Any witnesses or anyone with relevant vision is urged to contact police”

Investigations into the incident continue.