The Muslim prison chaplain caught bringing razor blades (“the kind found in barbershops”) and scissors into the downtown jail known as The Tombs walked free yesterday when a grand jury couldn’t decide whether to indict him or dismiss all charges. But he still faces charges including felony counts of promoting prison contraband, and has another court date set for April 27. Whatever the decision, the Correction Department says it will seek to fire Zul-Qarnain Abdu-Shahid, who in the 70s took part in a supermarket robbery that resulted in the death of one shopper. more ›

Today Imam Zulqarnain Abdu-Shahid, the Correction Department chaplain and ex-con caught carrying sharp objects (razor blades and a pair of scissors) into a downtown prison, is set to testify in front of a grand jury. Last week the Imam was charged with four counts of first-degree promoting prison contraband. According to his layer, the blades caught by an X-ray machine as the chaplain entered the prison are "the kind found in barbershops." more ›

An unofficial memo is circulating through NYPD precincts warning officers to be on guard against perpetrators who conceal blades in their cell phones and other hand-held devices. The handout shows how you can easily hide a razor blade in the battery compartment of a T-Mobile Sidekick, and also reminds officers about the recent arrest of a suspect in Harlem who converted his cell phone into a stun gun. A police source tells amNY that the improvised weapon "was unlikely to cause much harm, as the jolt was described as low-level." And then there are the hospital meal trays you've got to watch out for! Cops assigned to guard hospitalized prisoners are being warned that meal trays have a vanity mirror that can easily be fashioned into a makeshift shiv. The vanity mirror is in a second-level compartment and that "can pop up for easy use by a patient." Of course, one way to eliminate that threat would be to serve the prisoners' meals on regular trays, but then officers would be forced to guard prisoners with food stuck between their teeth, and we don't pay them enough for that. more ›