Rikers inmates sprung to curb COVID, but

New York’s summer crime surge has many underlying causes — and crime data seen by the Daily News don’t fully support the idea that bail reform and the release of Rikers Island inmates in the coronavirus pandemic are totally to blame.

About 2,100 people busted for gun possession since the beginning of 2019 are walking the streets now, said Chief Michael LiPetri, the NYPD’s top crime strategist.

Just seven of those 2,100 people — not even 1% — have been linked to shootings since their release.

Four of those have been charged, two are wanted, and one case is still being investigated, LiPetri says.

The coronavirus pandemic led the city to release 2,500 people from city jails in mid-March, data show. Of those, 75% were convicted felons, the NYPD says.

Only 275 of those inmates — 11% of those released — have been rearrested and are charged with 550 different crimes, police said.

Though year-to-date shootings are up 63% and murders are up 27%, overall crime is down by nearly 3% this year, NYPD data show.

It’s possible the surge in shootarresponse ings coincides with a drop in gun rests.

In to the “Defund the Police” movement and the civil unrest after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis cop, the NYPD disbanded its undercover anti-crime units June 15.

Since then, gun arrests have plunged. NYPD cops made 29 gun arrests in the week ended July 5, compared with 70 the same week in 2019 — a 62% decline, police data show.

The number of people charged with gun possession fell 49%, with 52 charged in the week ended July 5 this