LAST week I hosted a rum punch reception in the House of Commons to launch the new parliamentary group for Jamaica, of which I am chair.

The rum punch was excellent, courtesy of Wray and Nephew, which continues to be supportive to the Jamaican diaspora under the new ownership of Gruppo Campari. And the promise of rum punch was a lure for members of parliament and peers from all political parties.

But, if our rum and reputation for conviviality continue to be a big asset for Jamaica, then the continuing problem with crime is our biggest problem.

There is no more loyal diaspora than that of Jamaica. Many of them queued up in the cold outside for over an hour to get into the event. But even they are worried by the reports of crime. One of the reasons that persons give for not returning home to live in Jamaica is fear of crime. Furthermore crime, and the related problem of corruption, continue to put brakes on Jamaica’s economic potential.

There was a glimmer of light in 2010 in the aftermath of the security forces’ operation in Tivoli to arrest Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. The idea that nobody, however powerful their political connections, was above the law appeared to have a chastening effect on the criminal classes and their friends.

Furthermore, the arrest of ‘Dudus’ and the public state of emergency which was implemented, forced many criminals into hiding. Unfortunately, some politicians and civil society groups opposed an extension of the state of emergency and crime has continued to climb since then.

In recent months, there have been some particularly heartless crimes, including: the murder last month of seven-months pregnant Ms Sasha-Gay Coffie in Portmore, St Catherine; the murder of 65-year-old retired postmistress Ms Nathlee Hamilton in St Ann; the murder of 23-year-old Special Constable Ariana Henry in Portmore; the murder of 56-year-old retired Special Sergeant Kenneth Lynch, and last week’s robbery and murder of MoBay businessman Mr Clinton Young.

The solutions to crime and killing in Jamaica are complex. The obvious long-term solution is to bring jobs and hope to inner-city communities. But the Government is in a fix here. The very existence of crime makes it harder to attract investment. And in a small island like Jamaica, inevitably some members of the criminal classes will be known to some politicians.

This is true, even if it is a purely innocent social connection. Maybe the political class could do more to impress on the criminal class that post-Dudus they can no longer offer them protection. There also needs to be a long, hard look at management structures in the police force.

The British policemen seconded to the Jamaica Constabulary were widely considered to be very effective. This was not because they were more clever than their Jamaican counterparts, but it helped that they were not part of friendship networks amongst Jamaican policemen, which can sometimes make effective management difficult.

However, there are also practical things government can do. In the UK, police have had much success using genetic traces of DNA in blood, semen, skin and saliva left at the scene of a crime. They use these traces to match with the DNA of the criminal.

Crimes many years old have been solved in this way. But the forensic services available to the Jamaican police are lamentable. Money made available to Jamaica for economic development could be usefully and appropriately spent on state-of-the-art forensic laboratories, given the close relationship between crime-fighting and growth.

Jamaican rum punch is undoubtedly delicious. And Jamaica has many cultural and sporting triumphs to boast of. But Jamaican politicians need a brave and innovative approach to crime-fighting if they are going to lure even more people to visit and invest in Jamaica.

— Diane Abbott is the British Labour party MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington

www.dianeabbott.org.uk