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City Councilwoman Calls For Panic Buttons In All Cabs To Improve Safety

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police Commisioner Bill Bratton has drawn criticism for suggesting women consider buddying up when taking a cab, especially late at night.

Bratton made the remarks during an interview on public radio last week after it was revealed that women in New York were 14 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in a cab than in the subway.

"If you're coming out of a bar, and you're too inebriated to drive, so you are going to take public transportation, which we have a lot of in the city," Bratton said. "Do the buddy system, make sure you're going out with a friend."

City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo took issue with Bratton's proposal and is calling for more resources to stop violence against women.

With a recent 6.3 percent increase in rapes last year, more New York women are worried about their own safety, CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported.

"I probably wouldn't walk alone at night," Emily Fyfe, of the East Village, said.

Amanda Morris was slashed in the face in a random attack in the Chelsea section on Manhattan last week.

"My logic was if I look at the ground and mind my own business he'll leave me alone," Morris said.

Cumbo is joining with supporters on the steps of City Hall to call for passage of legislation that would require all cabs, yellow and livery, to have panic buttons in the back seat to call the police.

"I should be able to, as a woman, get up and decide that I want to go and grab a burger from Sisters Restaurant on the corner if I so choose to," Cumbo told 1010 WINS. "I should be able to do that and not feel that I have to get a buddy or that I should have to worry about my safety."

Cumbo co-sponsored the legislation, which was introduced last April.

"I think we should look at all the options that's certainly an option," de Blasio said. "I don't have a final opinion because it hasn't been studied by the NYPD and the TLC but that's something certainly worthy of study."

The Committee for Taxi Safety said they support installing panic alarms in yellow cabs, but they want all 'for-hire' like ride-share company Uber to do the same.

An Uber spokesman told CBS2 the company has already made safety improvements.

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