The problem is that, for most politicians, this kind of campaign would be political suicide. One particular side of the typical US political spectrum are already screaming at the top of their lungs about how the US is apparently the wild west with grandmas getting gunned down in the middle of the street (despite generally lacking evidence to support the claim), anyone running on a "looser on potential crime" campaign is going to get eaten alive in a primary or general.

It's hostage politics (we all have to deal with this nonsense because of a few loud loonies), but that also generally describes US politics as a whole for the past nearly-decade.