Las Vegas tries to clean up Strip

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Police say they will present a higher profile on the Las Vegas Strip to try and stem the rising tide of peddlers, handbillers and panhandlers.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak urged Las Vegas Police, casino executives and county staff members to meet as part of the Strip security committee to discuss the deteriorating situation of the famed tourist destination with the result being the number of officers patrolling the Strip may double on weekends, the Las Vegas Sun reported Friday.

It's unclear who would fund the extra patrols although some speculate Strip business might pay for them through some kind of tax.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said people looking for work in the resort corridor sell bottled water and dress as characters posing for pictures with tourists. Some panhandlers use kittens and puppies to gain sympathy from passers-by but gain complaints about how animals are being treated, the Sun reported.

Giunchigliani said more police shouldn't be the only solution to the ugliness on the Strip. She said hotels could offer tourists free bottled water to cut into illegal water sales, Las Vegas Boulevard could use more trash cans emptied frequently, and an ordinance outlining time and place for handbillers could help clean up Nevada's most famous street.

"All of it comes down to enforcement and penalties," she added. "Just having more police won't solve that problem."