I write this today because I have a friend who needs help, and I desperately need some ammunition to attempt to convince her to get it.
The situation is as follows, my friend has been "shoplifting" from a local grocery chain on a regular basis for six months to a year. The reason I put the word in quotes is that she has discovered that she can walk out the front door of one of the largest stores in the local region with entire shopping carts full of groceries. We have tallied the value of some of these carts at over 500 dollars at a conservative estimate. The total value of her trips is, at an estimate, anywhere from 5000-10000 dollars (conservatively).
She also cashes her payroll checks at this store, using her drivers permit and the stores rewards program card (which includes a rather extensive application, and although she has moved since the time of applying for the card at least two of the locations she may have listed as an address would be able to point an investigator to her present address).
I went to this store personally to check the supposed "safety" of it. There is a camera above the customer service desk where she cashes her checks. There are three cameras covering the exit (also the primary exit) which she uses. There is a camera on each end of the large open airlock space outside of the exit she uses. She has also described an occasion on which she was being intently watched by two employees and a manager as she walked out of the store. They did not stop her. She has waved to employees on the way out of the store. They did not stop her. The entire cart of groceries she walks out with is unbagged, and she isn't leaving from the row behind all of the registers. This chain is also known for having particularly good security teams.
She has managed to convince herself that because she hasn't been caught yet she wont be caught. My supposition (and that of several others, including several friends parents who have been around for a while with people who have been hit with things like this) is that they are simply waiting until their estimate of her theft is large enough to hit her with a felony offense. I have explained this to her and she has refused to acknowledge it.
I don't know if there is anything else I can do. I have been best friends with her for four years now, and she has been a huge part of my life. I have to at least try to get her the help she needs, and I desperately need some advice. I am planning on sitting down with her and a handfull of other very close friends and confronting her on this and several other issues. For this, I need to know what they might be waiting for if my supposition is correct, as well as any other hypothesis for their inaction to date. I desperately need either some serious numbers I can confront her with (jail time, future legal consequences, ect.) or a lead on where I can get this information, or both. If anyone has any thoughts on this of any kind, please share them, I want to get my friend the help she needs, but i know she has to find it for herself. I am just hoping I (and the handful of others who are important to her) can throw reality in her face hard enough that she will find the help she needs.
To confirm in advance, No, there has not yet been any charge or detainment in this matter, legally or privately.
Now, some critical information.
Both my friend and myself are legal residents of New York State.
We live in upstate New York (we do NOT live in any part of New York City or Long island)
My friend is 21.
My friend works in a daycare.
My friend has been diagnosed with Bi-polar disorder and borderline schizophrenia.
My friend has a prescription for lithium. She has recently been taking it erratically, which virtually negates its usefulness.
One major effect of my friends condition is an extreme impairment in her decision making capabilities, causing her to either make extremely bad decisions without properly examining the consequences of her actions and therefore not "realizing" they are a bad decision, or "consciously" making a decision she KNOWS is bad, but is effectively unable to engage in the process by which a normal person would rationalize not taking the action, instead simply doing it.
All of this is clinically documented.
One last question here: My friend also happens to be massively in debt, and last I had heard from her discussions with a credit counseling agency she qualifies for bankruptcy with a full pardon of her outstanding debts. Would a shoplifting conviction (as a misdemeanor or a felony conviction if my worst fears are correct) prevent her from filing for bankruptcy or limit her options when she does so?
I apologize for the extreme length of this post, I felt it was important that you have a complete picture of the situation. If you feel it would be more appropriate to respond in a private message please feel free to do so. Thank you all in advance for any help or advice you can give me.

