Tagging ... parents?

Blame the parents. Everyone else does. The legislative trend these days is to fine parents for their children’s misdeeds, especially if the not-so-little not-so-darlings skip school or damage property with graffiti. The anger over out-of-control youth is justified; the willingness to judge all parents by their children’s behavior, less so.

Chicago is pushing for a parental-fault graffiti ordinance, and the Los Angeles City Council is poised to pass such a measure Wednesday, following the recent adoption of an identical measure by the county. Parents could be fined $250 for a first offense, and up to $1,000 for third and subsequent graffiti incidents. There are many constructive aspects to the proposed L.A. ordinance, especially the provision that the city would remove graffiti on private property and then be categorized as the “victim� of the crime, able to seek civil damages. Under this scenario, both cleanup and court action become more efficient. The ordinance also would provide ways of tying punitive action to more positive steps for curbing graffiti, such as requiring regular school attendance by offending teens and parenting classes for their mothers and fathers.

There’s no denying that heedless parents need a wake-up call and would respond once the problem hits their wallets. Parental fines are one useful tool against the scourge of graffiti. The mistake comes in assuming that all or most parents deserve to be punished for juvenile delinquency. Many a caring family full of upstanding offspring also include one problem child. Teenagers in their years of rebellion are more influenced by friends than family. In some Los Angeles neighborhoods, they might be surrounded by a youth culture in which tagging and other troublemaking aren’t just considered cool but become a matter of survival among one’s peers. Parents can impose a curfew, but their options are limited when their sweet toddler has grown bigger and stronger than they are and refuses to stay in the house. Some teens would commit vandalism just to see their parents punished.

The city ordinance deserves passage, but not before tweaking it to make sure it is fairly applied. For one thing, the provision allowing liens against property for restitution would make the measure more punitive toward homeowners than toward other uncaring parents. Most important are standards for imposing fines, so that hardworking parents who fight a losing battle every day against gang-ruled neighborhoods and disorderly schools are not unfairly held to account. The best option: Put taggers on a heavy schedule of graffiti-scrubbing around the city until they have worked off any fines.