Gov. Brown Signs Racial Profiling Bill, Vetoes Date Rape Measure:  California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a racial profiling bill and vetoed a measure involving date rape this Saturday.  David Siders of the Sac Bee reports that the racial profiling legislation, Assembly Bill 953, requires police officers to record the reason for each stop they make, the result and perceived race, gender and age of the individual stopped in order to "illuminate evidence of racial profiling."  Law enforcement groups argue that such a requirement burdens officers with needless paperwork, keeping them from their necessary duties.  Brown also vetoed 11 crime-related bills, including Senate Bill 333, which would have made it a felony to possess date-rape drugs with the intent to commit a sexual assault.  Under last year's ballot measure, Proposition 47, simple possession of date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol was reduced from a wobbler to a misdemeanor, igniting fierce opposition from prosecutors, law enforcement and the community. 

Post-Freddie Gray, Violence Still Plagues Baltimore:  Despite a slight drop, shootings and homicides are still high in Baltimore, where racial tensions and distrust in police continue to loom nearly six months after the death of an unarmed black man in police custody.  Edmund DeMarche of Fox News reports that although homicides in September represented a drop from the record-breaking four-decade high of 43 recorded in May and 45 seen in July, locals are still angry and police officers still demoralized post-Freddie Gray, whose death in April sparked rioting, looting and the arrests of six Baltimore police officers.  Lt. Gene Ryan, president of the Baltimore Fraternal Order of Police, says that following the April unrest, police officers are "being attacked at every different angle and they're not getting the support they need and deserve" from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and other civic leaders.  University of Maryland law professor Michael Greenberger and other experts add that Baltimore's "less assertive" police force, stemming from either resentment, their treatment by city leaders or fear that they too can face arrest for doing their jobs, is reflecting unfavorably in the city's crime statistics.  

Police Challenged by Cyber Banging:  A younger generation of "cyber bangers" is challenging the LAPD as crime and gang violence, particularly in South Los Angeles, continues to climb.  Sandy Banks of the LA Times has this column describing how gangbangers of today have become bolder and less predictable, evolving "in ways that make them harder to rein in."  Banks explains that in the past, gangs were hierarchical, less impulsive and feuded over turf and colors; however, presently, gang shootings are more often linked to spats exchanged on social media - referred to as "cyber banging" - which has gang interventionists, police and the community baffled.  In August, half of the city's homicides occurred in South Los Angeles, 70 percent are believed to be gang-related, and LAPD's tried-and-true tactics of relying on veteran gang members, increasing patrols and engaging in community policing are not having the same effect on the younger generation of gang members as it has on those years before.  LAPD Deputy Chief Bill Scott says the department is working on recruiting new intervention crews of street-savvy, online sleuths to scour social media posts and decipher signs of trouble before violence is carried out on the streets.