Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy delivers remarks at the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
At a Cincinnati town hall Monday night, Republican Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy claimed there is “an epidemic of violent crime” in Ohio cities. The event, organized in the wake of a downtown Cincinnati brawl, emphasized residents’ fears and frustrations with the criminal justice system.
But while those concerns are certainly real, and city leaders themselves acknowledge problems, the recent spike in violence appears to be a departure from broader trends.
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Speakers shared stories of losing loved ones to violence or lax consequences for offenders. Sarah Heringer described how her husband Patrick was murdered in their home by a man previously released on parole.
“That’s what leadership looks like in Cincinnati,” she said. “Negligence, silence, and cowardice.”
Ramaswamy seized on the idea that suspect was supposed to be in an ankle monitor but had cut it off.
“It’s unconscionable that we have a system that is now allowing repeat violent offenders in one way or another, right back on the street to commit more crime — that has to stop.” he said.
Ramaswamy found several places to lay the blame, from weak-willed politicians to judges operating without transparency to police worried about getting sued. He tossed in the “failure of our schools” and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society legislation for good measure.
As for solutions, Ramaswamy offered a familiar law and order playbook: Ratchet up bond for violent and repeat offenders “to actually keep them in prison, keep them incarcerated.” Add new police officers to the force, “empower” them to “do the job they swore an oath of office to actually do,” and “increase punishments where required.”
He also suggested reopening psychiatric hospitals so that jails aren’t a primary source of mental health treatment.
Ramaswamy said that’s not an “exhaustive list,” but those changes in would “put a meaningful dent in the unacceptable rise in crime.”
“The question is, do we have the courage to actually see it through? That’s where leadership comes in,” Ramaswamy said.
“And as I said, in 2025 help is on the way in Cincinnati,” he continued, alluding to the city’s upcoming local elections. “And in 2026, help is on the way in the state of Ohio.”
Cold water?
Notably, Ohioans voted a few years ago to ensure judges can weigh public safety as a factor in determining the amount of bail. Traditionally, the system was only meant to ensure people show up for their court date.
Adding police to the force is easier said than done. Cincinnati has been having trouble recruiting new officers for years. And as for empowering the police, it’s still rare for officers to face prosecution for their conduct in uniform.
As governor, Ramaswamy could certainly push for harsher sentences, but according to The Sentencing Project, Ohio already keeps a lot of people behind bars. Ohio’s imprisonment rate per 100,000 residents ranks 12th in the country and the state’s youth custody rate ranks 9th.
The Hamilton County Democratic Party didn’t mince words about Ramaswamy’s town hall.
“Ramaswamy is exploiting a traumatic incident to push failed billionaire-first policies, inflame racial divisions, and smear our city for his own ambition,” the party wrote in a Facebook post.
“Cincinnatians do not need a lecture on law and order from someone who supports President Trump’s continued coverup of the Epstein files and who excused the pardoning of the violent January 6 rioters,” the party added.
And even if some Cincinnati residents think the response has been inadequate, local leaders are responding.
In a statement, Cincinnati Police spokesman Jonathan Cunningam said, “CPD with City Administration have been very transparent over the last several weeks, actually since the start of summer, on what we are seeing in terms of all crime and what our collaborative responses are.”
Back in June, Police Chief Teresa Theetge announced a new roving task force and an initiative using drones to monitor incidents as they unfold. Although Cincinnati leaders acknowledge they’ve been facing recent challenges, the broader trends in big cities around the country are positive.
The think tank Council on Criminal Justice reviewed data from 42 U.S. cities and found 11 of 13 offenses were lower in the first half of 2025 than in 2024. Drug offenses held steady and domestic violence was the only crime that saw an increase.
Similarly, a coalition of police chiefs in major U.S. cities reported reductions in homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault in the first quarter of 2025 compared with the same time frame in 2024.
Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus all contributed data as a part of the report. Columbus saw a slight increase in aggravated assault and a big jump in robberies. But for Cincinnati, each category went down except for robbery — which increased from 142 cases to 148.
Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky.
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