Cop Speak: The Lingo of Law Enforcement and Crime

From the "git-go" until the case is "cleared," law enforcement officials--and the criminals they pursue--have a language all their own. In CopSpeak, Tom Philbin sets the record straight with a fun, factual, and fascinating compilation that's part dictionary, part encyclopedia, and all entertaining. From "Abe" (five dollars' worth of illegal drugs) to "zombie" (a police officer who works at night), CopSpeak is "phat" (cool). Take a "taste" (sampling): SHANK A knife or other sharp instrument used by prison inmates. Prisoners are ingenious at making shanks. They have been constructed from everything from a metal bed slat to a toothbrush handle in which a razor is embedded. "At any given time," said one ex-convict, "there's enough shanks in a prison to open a cutlery factory."