Rise in domestic violence fuels 5 per cent increase in attacks Metropolitan Police reveal 15.5 per cent increase in domestic violence Rise in abuse at home has pushed attacks with injuries up by five per cent Violence with injury as a whole had risen by 5.4 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2012 The commissioner also said that Christmas could be linked to the increase There was a sharp leap in domestic violence in the last quarter of 2013 - with a rise of 15.5 per cent of victims suffering abuse at home, police have revealed. Speaking to a panel including mayor Boris Johnson at City Hall in London today, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said that there had been a 5.1 per cent rise in the final quarter of last year of attacks with injuries, compared with the previous three months. He said he believes this was mainly driven by a 15.5 per cent increase in domestic violence. Sir Bernard said: 'It may be down to increased reporting rather than down to more domestic violence. Some of these increases have been in boroughs which have made the most increases to third-party reporting (where someone other than the victim reports the crime). 'We are not going to say it's something we are not concerned about, but it's too early to say it's a trend.' The number of repeat domestic violence victims fell by 10.2 per cent in the three months, suggesting that more new victims came forward in that time. The commissioner also said that Christmas could be linked to the increase, saying: 'You can imagine that when people are at home more there is more opportunity for domestic situations.' Violence with injury as a whole had risen by 5.4 per cent compared with the same quarter in 2012. Sandra Horley, chief executive of domestic violence charity Refuge, said: 'Domestic violence thrives on secrecy, so no one knows its true extent. Refuge works with women and children in a number of London boroughs and we know that many of them live in fear before finding the courage to ask for help. A huge leap in domestic violence has pushed violent injuries up by five per cent, police have suggested But these figures show that more women in London are coming forward and reporting domestic violence to the police. This is a good thing. Domestic violence is a serious crime that kills two women a week in England and Wales. Through rigorous arresting and charging we can protect women and children by holding violent men accountable for these atrocious crimes. But she said the charity receives fewer visits to its website and that there are fewer calls to the National Domestic Violence Helpline at Christmas than at other times of year. 'It can be very difficult for a woman experiencing domestic violence to access support during the festive period - a period when her abusive partner may be spending more time at home and monitoring her behaviour more closely than ever,' Ms Horley said. Separately, questions were also raised over why crime in London is not falling as quickly as in the rest of the country. In the decade to 2013 crime in the capital dropped 27 per cent, compared to 38 per cent across England and Wales and 50 per cent in urban areas classed as being similar to London. Chair of the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee, John Biggs said: 'We are all pleased that crime has fallen by more than a quarter in London over the last 10 years. 'But, as we probed the Met's budget for next year, we found that crime has been falling much faster in the rest of the country and nobody seems to know why. 'The Mayor has a responsibility to make decisions on London's £17.5 billion budget based on evidence, and he needs more data to understand why the Met's performance lags behind that of forces in other parts of the country.' There are no reliable national data on the general incidence of domestic violence in the UK, but Women's Aid have collected figures which show the worrying extent of domestic violence in the country. In 2011/12, 7.3 per cent of women (1.2 million) and 5 per cent of men (800,000) report having experienced domestic abuse. 31 per cent women and 18 per cent of men have experienced domestic abuse since the age of 16 years. This amounts to 5 million women and 2.9 million men. Domestic violence has repeatedly been identified as a major factor leading to death in or related to pregnancy and childbirth. In 2011/12, the police reported nearly 800,000 incidents of domestic violence. Domestic violence accounts for 10 per cent of emergency calls. Domestic violence has consistently accounted for between 16% and one quarter of all recorded violent crime. There has been a 65 per cent increase in number of domestic violence prosecutions between 2005/6 and 2010/11 and a corresponding 99 per cent increase in number of defendents convicted. Despite this, domestic violence conviction rates in the five years to 2011 stood at just 6.5 per cent of incidents reported to police - though a much higher proportion of around 70 per cent of those charged. Women are much more likely than men to be the victim of multiple incidents of abuse, of different types of domestic abuse (partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking) and in particular of sexual violence.