KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) – Jamaica improved in three key areas of well being under the Vision 2030 National Development Plan, during the January to March 2016 quarter.

Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) Deputy Director General, Richard Lumsden, says the areas include security, labour force quality, and environmental stewardship, which recorded notable outcomes, compared to the corresponding period in 2015.

He was speaking at the PIOJ’s quarterly media briefing at the Institute’s New Kingston head office on Wednesday.

Regarding security, Lumsden said the number of serious, violent and acquisitory crimes committed this year fell by 23 to 57 per 100,000 persons, representing a 29 per cent decline.

This category included offences such as aggravated assault, break-ins, larceny, murder, rape, robbery and shootings.

In relation to murders, Lumsden noted that the rate for the March quarter fell to 9.8 per 100,000, representing a 4.3 per cent decline over the similar period in 2015 when the figure stood at 10.2 per 100,000.

“These figures extend the downward trend in overall crime rates that began in June 2010, into a sixth consecutive year,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lumsden said the total number of people acquiring vocational or professional training as at March 31 increased marginally to 25.4 per cent. This, he pointed out, was 0.2 per cent more than the corresponding period in 2015.

Jamaica’s score on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) increased to 77 at the end of March, up from 58.3 in 2014.

This pushed the island’s global ranking to 54 out of 180 countries, up from 55 out of 178 in 2014.

“This was influenced by improvement in the scores for health impacts, water and sanitation, forests and biodiversity and habitat,” Lumsden said.