Making good on one of his primary campaign promises, Gov. Tom Ridge has kicked off his term by ordering the state legislature to conduct a special session on crime.

Ridge opened the session last week with a speech to both houses of the legislature in which he stressed the importance of reducing crime rates to the citizens of Pennsylvania.

John Kramer, associate professor of sociology and administration of justice, said he expects to see two phases of crime legislation.

The first phase will involve "clean-up issues" that fix lapses in current laws, Kramer said. The other phase, he said, will concern "structural issues" such as relations between the state and local communities in funding correctional projects.

However, Kramer said he does not believe these efforts will cure the ill of crime in the state.

"I don't think it's going to change the crime rate," he said, "but I think we will see some tough-on-crime laws by mid-March."

Despite doubts that new laws will work, Ridge is hoping to forge a working relationship with Pennsylvanians to solve the problem.

"This administration is going to be a partnership not just between the governor and the legislature, but between the governor, legislature and the commonwealth," said Steve Miskin, Ridge's deputy press secretary.

Ridge has proposed a wide variety of potential policies that fall on both the prevention and punishment sides of the criminal law debate.

"For true criminal reform and for true safety, he's a mixture," Miskin said. "He's into what's right for Pennsylvania."

Some of Ridge's more prominent policies, he said, include tougher sentences for violent offenders, an overhaul of the juvenile court system that would allow 15 to 18 year olds to be tried as adults, drug and alcohol treatment in prisons and developmental work projects in correctional institutes.

State Rep. Ruth Rudy, D-Centre, has taken an especially large role in the session by sponsoring some of Ridge's other measures.

A "three strikes and you're in" bill that would require imprisonment for a criminal who commits three felonies has just come out of committee, Rudy said. And although it is a Republican version, she said it is almost identical to the one she originally proposed in the last congressional term.

Another bill that Rudy sponsored is similar to New Jersey's Megan's Law that requires local authorities to inform their communities when a released sex offender moves into their area.

Rudy said she agrees that passing tougher crime laws is essential to Pennsylvanians.

"I think (legislators) realize crime is a major issue in the commonwealth," she said.

Despite legislators claiming to recognize the problems of crime, some people are happy that Ridge has decided to have victims take part in the law making process.

Karin Kysilka, a member of the College Republicans, said victims help to bring some realism to legislators who are often separated from the world of crime and violence.

"When was the last time their daughter was raped or their son was killed in a drive-by shooting?" she said.