Reno Feels Sense of ‘Home’ in L.A. Visit : Law enforcement: Attorney general says city’s volatile problems with race and crime are like those elsewhere in the nation.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Janet Reno, the self-styled “people’s lawyer,” came to Los Angeles Friday and met with public officials, community leaders and schoolchildren eager to know what steps the federal government will take to curb gangs, crime and violence in a city overburdened with all of those problems.

At the start of a two-day visit to Los Angeles, Reno fielded dozens of tough questions from concerned citizens in a furious round of activities and engagements throughout the day.

In her first visit to the city since becoming the nation’s top law enforcement official, Reno said she had a sense of “coming home,” comparing the “joys and pains” of her hometown, Miami, and Los Angeles, two cities that have endured volatile periods in which issues of race and crime have dominated.

The fast pace barely seemed to show on the attorney general as she went about the day.

By 9 a.m., on Michael Jackson’s KABC radio call-in program, Reno tackled the thorny issues of gun control and capital punishment. She is for the former and against the latter, saying it is motivated by vengeance.

“I don’t think vengeance is something the government should engage in,” she added.

She also dealt good-naturedly with questions about her personal life. Reno, 54 and unmarried, told listeners earnestly that she would love to be married. “It would be wonderful,” she said.

By 3 p.m., in a question-and-answer period at East Los Angeles’ Rowan Avenue Elementary School, she advised students about the importance of victim’s rights, explaining that she had once been mugged and knew what a horrible feeling it was to be victimized.

Reno seemed delighted with the students. She seemed moved that so many of the youngsters’ questions revolved around issues of crime and violence. “This is one reason I love coming to schools, because you learn what an impact violence has on communities,” she said.

Reno appeared to draw a strong positive response from the public no matter what the age group.

“I thought that she was pretty cool,” said 11-year-old Joe Guererro, who managed to push past his fellow Rowan students to snag an autograph. It read, “To Joe, stand tall and do the right thing, Janet Reno.”

The 6-foot-2-inch Reno, known for being down to earth, common-sensical and blunt talking, assumed her position as the nation’s first woman attorney general with a shaky start, drawing criticism for the Justice Department’s handling of the Branch Davidian siege near Waco, Tex.

But she won praise for her forthrightness in accepting responsibility for the storming of the compound, in which 86 people died, and has emerged as one of the most popular members of President Clinton’s Cabinet.

Since then, she has sought to expand the traditional boundaries of the Justice Department’s activities, advocating new approaches to preventing crime as well as a more holistic, cooperative relationship among federal agencies on issues of social welfare.

At a town hall meeting at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Reno praised the idea of community policing--an approach also being pushed by Los Angeles Police Chief Willie L. Williams--but said the concept should be taken further with preventive programs headed by teams of police, public nurses and social workers.

Reno, a former Miami prosecutor, also said she favors a carrot-and-stick approach for drug offenders that would mean jail terms but would also involve greater rehabilitative efforts, such as detoxification and job training.

Reno repeatedly asked those she met for their advice on sensitive issues such as crime and social policy, and her Los Angeles audience appeared ready to test her reputation for straight talking with volatile questions about immigration, race relations and police abuse of minorities.

At the town hall meeting, U.S. District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. asserted that minorities, especially young black men, were being emasculated by strict federal sentencing guidelines used by young Anglo prosecutors trying to make their careers on the backs of minority defendants.

“Top drug kingpins go free while those on the bottom are being prosecuted,” said the judge, who is black. “We, as Americans, can do much better.” Hatter’s comments received enthusiastic applause from the racially mixed assembly.

Reno pledged that she would address the issue of unfair sentencing “using common sense and fairness as criteria to look at the issues.” She added, “One thing I want to do is have truth in sentencing. Punishment has got to be fair to all concerned. It’s got to be consistent.”

Later, Hatter called Reno’s comments a “standard public response,” but he nevertheless praised the attorney general as a person of goodwill.

“If nothing else, she’s a breath of fresh air after 12 years.”

Reno also impressed Los Angeles Urban League President John Mack, who described her as a “sensitive and caring individual.”

“Her comments showed real compassion for individuals and respect for human beings without regard for their background,” Mack said. “But at the same time she came across as no-nonsense. I think she brings a good balance.”

One of the most persistent topics of the day involved immigration, which Reno called one of the most difficult challenges her department faces. Noting that she is the daughter of an immigrant, Reno promised that the issue would be addressed fairly and in a nonpolitical way.

She was scheduled to meet with more community leaders at a reception held by Mayor Richard Riordan later in the evening and was to meet with the city’s top law enforcement officials.