A TWO-hour standoff with Stanthorpe police last week ended with the accused armed offender escorted to a mental health facility.

Stanthorpe Police Acting officer-in-charge Shane Gleeson said during the stand-off, the man threatened to hurt himself and attempted to "goad police into shooting him".

"The man contacted the ambulance, telling them he was self-harming with a knife," he said.

Police attempted to negotiate with the man - who police believe was under the influence of alcohol and possibly drugs - but after two hours, he left the High St home he was staying at with the knife.

"As he was running down the street towards a populated area, we chased after him and to prevent him from being a threat to other people we threatened him with the use of a taser," he said.

"It was not deployed and the man dropped his knife and surrendered to police."

The accused is now undergoing a medical assessment and is expected to be charged with such offences as going armed in public to cause fear and assaulting police.

In other police news, a warning about police targeting shoplifters in the lead-up to Christmas has fallen on deaf ears, with a woman charged after an alleged brazen theft at the weekend.

Warwick Acting officer-in-charge Lisa Self said officers were called to Big W on Saturday, following reports a 23-year-old woman had left the centre with clothing stashed in her pram.

"The concerning thing about this one is she was using her pram and involving an innocent child," she said. "Your moral compass must be very off-north to use a child."

The woman was charged with stealing and is expected to appear in court on January 7.