One of the teens involved in an alleged armed carjacking in an affluent Brisbane suburb has taken to social media to taunt police after he was arrested and then subsequently bailed.
Car thefts in Queensland have surpassed a 10-year high with an average of 55 thefts across the Sunshine State every day.
New police data shows Cairns is the hardest hit area after it recorded more than 850 thefts over the last year.
It is followed closely by Toowoomba and the Brisbane suburb of Hendra with more than 600 each.
The 17-year-old boy and another young male were allegedly armed with a shovel and knife when they ordered Doctor Angelo Justus out of his Audi A3 on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulimba resident complied with the teens, who were wearing a balaclava and repeatedly swearing at him, and jumped out of the family car parked on his driveway.
Security camera footage of the Audi A3 being allegedly stolen by two teenagers in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Bulimba on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Supplied
Police officers on Tuesday arrested the 17-year-old male at a property in Gleneagle, about one hour south of where the car was allegedly stolen, and put him into handcuffs.
Bodycam footage showed the moment officers pounced at night, while a female could be heard in the background crying as the teen was apprehended.
“You’re under arrest at the moment, you’ve got multiple warrants out,” an officer could be heard telling the teen.
He was charged with one count each of armed robbery, possess dangerous drugs and two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle. The teen was refused bail by police.
However, the teen fronted the Children’s Court on Wednesday and was released on bail.
The 17-year-old teen who was given bail after fronting the Children’s Court hours later allegedly taunted police on Snapchat. Picture: Supplied
He also described the police body cam footage of his arrest, which was released to the media, as “cute”. Picture: Supplied
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The teenager allegedly hours later took to social media app Snapchat where he taunted the Queensland Police Service about his arrest.
“Dw guys daddy is out just get harraised (sic) for nothing no evidence no CCTV no nothing. F**k QPS,” he wrote in a selfie of himself making the peace sign.
In a separate video, he shared a link to a video of him being detained.
“That’s a cute video guys ahaha. F**k QPS,” it read.
The 17-year-old teen was detained by police on Tuesday night. He was charged with armed robbery, possess dangerous drugs and two counts of unlawful use of a motor vehicle. Picture: Supplied
Acting Chief Superintendent Andrew Pilotto held a press conference to address community concerns about crimes, such as carjackings, which rose to a 10-year high.
He was asked if it was “frustrating” the teen was bailed in court, after earlier mentioning police have engaged a youth justice special bail coordinator to appeal the decision.
“I wouldn’t say frustrated. There is avenues to appeal that and we’re grateful to the government… and we use that,” Act Supt Pilotto said on Thursday morning.
He would not go into the reasons as to why they would object the bail, but pointed to the offences which he described were “quite violent”.
Police know the name of the second teen involved in the Bulimba carjacking, with Act Supt Pilotto issuing a message to him at the media conference.
“We are actively hunting you, I’d ask you, go into a police station, announce yourself and we’ll deal with you quickly and fairly,” he said.
Queensland Acting Chief Superintendent Andrew Pilotto on Thursday attempted to reassure Sunshine State residents that officers were on top of preventing crime. Picture: John Gass
He also reassured the Queensland community that police were “very active” in preventing crime, while addressing two other incidents which occurred on Wednesday.
One involved a Sun Valley man, 28, who allegedly stabbed two men after he was suspected of shoplifting in South Brisbane on Wednesday about 4pm.
He fled on foot but was found by police a short time later and charged with two counts of wounding and another of possessing a knife in a public place.
The second incident occurred in Sunnybank where a Acacia Ridge man, 18, attempted to steal a Subaru Forrester at a shopping centre on McCullough Street.
The 23-year-old female driver returned and tried to stop the thief when he allegedly slammed her hand into the door and reversed into a bystander who intervened.
He was apprehended by members of the community before being arrested by police and charged with armed robbery, unlawful use of motor vehicle and driving unlicensed.
“We are as disturbed as the community,” Act Supt Pilotto said.
“Crime occurs everywhere. I think it’s more disturbing of the nature… on a Sunday afternoon in a driveway or a shopping centre at 9pm at night.”
‘No silver bullet’ in solving Queensland’s crime crisis: Keith Pitt
Queensland Police launched Operation Victor Unison in March to target crime, in particular youth offending, in hotspots across the Sunshine State.
More than 2,800 hours of extra overtime in high visibility police patrols and active bail compliance checks on juveniles were just some deterrence measures undertaken.
Act Supt Pilotto flagged police commanders in Queensland would like more resources, but insisted he was “very happy” with the number in the force.
“On the recruiting strategy, the government has given us 2,025 more police officers by 2025. There is no hiding we had trouble recruiting but the recruiting pipeline is very health for us at the moment,” he said.
“The government has given us a lot of additional funding, laws, and power. I think we’re using them to great affect.”