Lisa Kelley of the city of Las Vegas' Rapid Response Team cleans up graffiti on Tuesday. Mayor Oscar Goodman has proposed an ordinance that would force parents of children convicted as graffiti vandals to perform community service with their children. Photo by Clint Karlsen.

The sins of children convicted as graffiti vandals could soon be visited on their parents.

The city of Las Vegas is considering adopting an ordinance that would force parents to perform 50 to 99 hours of community service if their child is caught defacing property and the parents knew about it.

Perhaps adding to the punishment for both parties: Community service must be done by parent and child together.

Mayor Oscar Goodman said he's pursuing the ordinance to make parents pay more attention to their children.

"I want parents to take a stick to their kids," he said.

Goodman had previously expressed a desire to chop off the thumbs of "taggers" as well as put offenders in medieval-style stocks. Those proposed punishments were not taken seriously.

His latest proposal will be considered by the City Council in the next few weeks.

Even if it's passed by the council, it is unclear how often the ordinance would be used.

Under the proposal, parents would have to be tried separately and found guilty of contributing to the delinquency or neglect of a child. Only then would parents face the mandatory penalty of 50 to 99 hours of community service.

"I'm not saying it's an easy burden of proof," said City Attorney Brad Jerbic. "But if they're providing the child with a spray can, or allowing this to go on and knowing about it, we're going to hold them responsible."

Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said he found the proposed ordinance "exceedingly puzzling."

He said the mandatory penalty "is an usurpation of the authority not only of the Legislature, but of the courts."

Since April, Clark County has conducted a pilot program for youth convicted of graffiti. The kids come out on Saturday mornings with county work crews to cover and clean up graffiti. They are also counseled by probation officers.

"Many of the children we're seeing, parents are not aware of what their children are doing," said Cherie Townsend, director of Clark County's juvenile justice services department.

She said that of the 77 kids who have participated in the program, only one has re-offended on graffiti.

"It's better then we had hoped," Townsend said. "It's a remarkable, successful program."

She said the pilot program ends in November, and officials will explore creating a permanent program.

She said that part of the program could be educating parents to make them aware of what their kids are doing.

The city of Las Vegas regularly has kids ordered to perform community service work with graffiti cleanup crews, said city spokeswoman Mary Ann Price.