From safer streets to the State of the Union: Honoring Sheriff Chris Stratton

By U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor
R-Second District

Few things are more important than keeping our families safe. Thankfully, now we have a president who knows that.

Since President Trump was sworn into office, cities across the U.S. have seen a steep decline in every major violent crime category compared to the previous year. Our nation’s murder rate has plunged to a 125-year low, robberies are down by 20%, and aggravated assaults are down nearly 10%.

In our own Buckeye State, Columbus is seeing a 33% decrease in crime, while in cities like Orlando, Florida, crime has plummeted by 58%.

This is no coincidence.

President Trump’s no-nonsense approach to public safety is what’s keeping families like yours and mine safer. When criminals are held accountable, parents don’t have to worry as much about their kids’ safety, local businesses lose less money to crime, and law enforcement has the tools and support they need to do their jobs.

And it all started at our nation’s border.

Under President Biden, 20 MILLION illegal aliens walked right across our border, infiltrating our communities and putting our loved ones at risk. Even the death of one American at the hands of an illegal alien is too many, and yet we continue to see these tragedies splashed across the headlines.

In 2024, young Laken Riley was killed by an illegal alien while on a run in Georgia. In 2017, college freshman Connor Dzion’s life ended far too soon at the hands of an illegal alien CDL driver who couldn’t speak English or read the road signs. And in August of 2025, it happened again–a semi-truck driven by a non-English speaking illegal alien pulled an illegal U-turn and killed three Americans on a Florida turnpike.

We must put a stop to this. By restoring the “Remain in Mexico” policy and putting an end to the “catch and release” era, President Trump is changing the trajectory of safety and security in our nation. The effectiveness of his policies speaks for itself: in the past nine months, there have been exactly zero releases at our southern border. That’s remarkable.

He saw a crisis and fixed it right away, leaving many of us to wonder… if President Biden could have done this the whole time he was in office, why didn’t he? 

We may never know.

But what I do know is that in President Trump’s first year in office, he fully funded our border wall, stemmed the flow of illicit fentanyl at its source, and equipped law enforcement with the tools they need to do their jobs. Our nation is at an 80-year low in tragic on-duty law enforcement officer deaths, and it’s thanks to the Trump Administration holding criminals accountable and Backing the Blue.

President Trump is sending the world a clear message that the United States is not playing around. We live in the freest, safest, and most prosperous country in the world, and this would not be possible without a strong president, conservative policies, and the tireless efforts of our hardworking law enforcement.

That’s why I’m proud to bring Clermont County Sheriff Chris Stratton as my guest to President Trump’s State of the Union Address. Sheriff Stratton has tirelessly served Clermont County for over three decades and is a driving force holding criminals accountable and enforcing our laws. It’s because of the tireless work of officers like him that our communities are safer places to live today. We owe him and every police officer across the nation a debt of gratitude for their service. I look forward to having him join me to hear President Trump share what he’s accomplished so far and all that he has ahead to help our communities thrive.

President Trump is giving our officers the tools they need to do their jobs and keep dangerous criminals off our streets. Thanks to No Tax on Overtime, which was signed into law in the Working Families Tax Cuts, officers just like Sheriff Stratton and his team will take home more money in their paychecks. That means law enforcement families have a bigger budget to spend on things they need. It’s a much-needed “thank you” for the risk they assume every day to keep our communities safe.

Even though national crime rates are going down, there is still more work to do. In Congress, I’m advocating for increased collaboration between federal and local law enforcement to restore order in our communities. I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and local leaders to lower local crime rates, keep illicit drugs like fentanyl off our streets, and support our law enforcement as they tirelessly serve our families. By doing this, we can ensure our communities are safe and prosperous for decades to come. 

If you pass a police officer today, I encourage you to thank them for the work they’re doing. I’ve never been prouder to Back the Blue, and now that we have a president who supports them, it’s never been a better time to be an American.

Congressman Dave Taylor is a Republican from Clermont County representing Ohio’s Second Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. 

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