To the Editor:

It is a great disappointment when a politician like California's
governor, Gray Davis, capitalizes on public support for tough crime
legislation to further his own political ambitions (news article, May
23). Harsh criminal justice measures may offer fast, visible
improvements, but they also result in distressing long-term
consequences.

True solutions to today's criminal justice challenges lie in
rehabilitative programs that prepare those who go through the system
to be productive members of the society they will one day rejoin.

The public is drawn to policies that deny the complexities of real
world situations -- policies like the "three strikes" law and the
Rockefeller drug laws in New York. Mr. Davis is inoculating himself
against criticism from potential opponents by going along with this
public sentiment. This kind of passive opportunism may be a wise move
in today's political climate, but history will judge him harshly.

JACOB KOSKOFF,
Brooklyn, May 24, 2000