'Cosby Effect' is responsible for spike in rape reports, NYPD commissioner says

New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton says "the Cosby Effect" is responsible for the rise in reports of rapes across the city.

Reports of alleged attacks that happened years ago have spiked by more than six percent in New York from last year.

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As well as the "Cosby Effect," Bratton says the NYPD has been making a real effort to encourage victims of rape to come forward.

"We had a significant increase of rapes reported from previous years, going back many, many years," he said in an appearance on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC radio.

See Bill Cosby at his recent arraignment:

Last year there were 1,439 rape cases reported in the city compared to the 1,354 cases reported in 2014.

The commissioner said that single women leaving bars alone in Manhattan and Brooklyn have been targeted.

"We are encouraging women to adopt a buddy system if they are going to go a bar," Bratton said.

Read: Camille Cosby is Trying to Delay Her Deposition in Her Husband's Defamation Case

It comes as Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, has won a reprieve and will not be deposed on Wednesday in the defamation case brought by seven of her husband's accusers.

Her lawyers argued that she should not have to testify against her husband, but she may still have to give a deposition at a later date.

Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 50 women. He has denied the allegations.

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