After years of declines in crime, the number of shootings in the city is up 7 percent so far in 2015. Police seized fewer illegal guns last year, which raises the questions: Are shootings up because there are more guns on the street? Are fewer guns being seized because stop-and-frisk policing has largely ended? NY1's Dean Meminger filed this report as the second part in the series, "Under The Gun."

Whenever police make a major gun bust, it's scary to see the illegal fire power that's on our streets.

It turns out the police are not seizing as many of these guns as they once did.

"The gun on the street in the wrong hands has the opportunity," says Monroe College professor Robert Gibbons who is also a retired NYPD lieutenant.

In 2013, 5,900 illegal guns were recovered, but last year—the first year of Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration— that number dropped by almost 700 to 5,200 guns.

Gibbons says the reduction in seized guns is likely one reason why shootings are up, and he says the drastic reduction of "stop, question and frisk" by police—because of a federal lawsuit along with the support of Mayor de Blasio—has probably led to fewer guns recovered and more people packing heat.

"If the police aren't interacting, stopping or questioning, or inquiry of people on street corners, etc... I think you are going to see less gun arrests," Gibbons says. "I think also the criminal element is aware of that."

Statistics show less than 1 percent of people stopped and frisked over the years had a gun.

One reason why is that the tactic badly damaged community trust of the police. Most of those stopped did nothing wrong.

Still, there were so many stops, the number of guns seized added up to hundreds a year—weapons that arguably are now remaining on the streets.

We asked the NYPD whether there are more shootings because stop-and-frisk policing has largely ended.

"The topic that has been much debated. But, I think we have been pretty consistent with this administration on this point. We are looking for quality arrests to solve problems," says NYPD Deputy Commissioner Dermot Shea.

The deputy commissioner says although shootings and murders are slightly up this year, it's not a return to the bad old days. The total number of crimes is still declining.

"The city certainly is not going crazy and really it is quite the opposite," Shea says.