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The number of collisions and crash-related injuries are down at three of the four intersections in the city that have red-light cameras, a Tucson police official said.

Also, the city has issued almost $2 million in citations for everything from red-light running to seat-belt violations since the photo traffic-enforcement project began last August, said Lt. Mike Pryor, traffic section commander for the Tucson Police Department.

The project started with a mobile photo radar van parked at various locations to catch speeders. Red-light cameras were gradually added to four intersections beginning last October.

Police are seeing lower average speeds and fewer motorists being caught on camera at several locations where the mobile radar van has been parked, Pryor said.

"These are all very encouraging trends, but these are just trends at this point," he said. "We can say the trends are consistent with what other communities are seeing."

Police on Thursday released numbers showing the amount of injuries and collisions at the four intersections with cameras.

Three of the intersections with cameras showed decreases in the different categories, with South Nogales Highway and East Valencia Road showing about a 40 percent decrease in injuries between February and July, compared with the same time last year, when there was no camera at the intersection.

There was an increase in the number of collisions — but the same number of injuries — at North Oracle and West River roads between April and July, compared with the same months in 2007 when the intersection had no camera.

Pryor said that Oracle and River, which has a downhill grade with a 40 mph speed limit when the southbound lanes of Oracle approach River, is one of the most dangerous in the "entire state."

The other two cameras are at Tanque Verde and East Grant roads, and East 22nd Street and South Wilmot Road.

The money from the citations pays for a variety of expenses, including a vendor to process citations and staffing costs, Pryor said.

About 40 percent of the money goes to the state Supreme Court and all remaining money is retained by the city courts, he said.

The Police Department is most concerned with decreasing the amount of injuries and regulating the speeds that occur at these red-light-camera intersections, he said.

"The harder people run into each other, that's when they're most likely to be hurt. This tells us we're accomplishing what we wanted to accomplish," he said.

While police officials want to make the intersections safer, some people think the wrong drivers are receiving tickets.

Jack Walters, 80, said he has never received a citation from a red-light camera, but several of his friends have because they were in the intersection waiting to make a left turn.

"My whole thing is let's stop speeders and let's not turn this into a moneymaking scheme," he said.

He said he supports the use of red-light cameras and radar vans, but only if they catch the cars that go through red lights.

"My concern is when I take my foot off the accelerator and two or three cars fly by," Walters said. "They're the ones that are going to kill somebody."

Merle Breiland, 69, also supports the use of red-light cameras, but he said he's concerned about the timing of the yellow lights.

Breiland received a citation earlier this summer when he made a left turn while his car was sitting in a crosswalk at Oracle and River roads, he said.

He claimed the light only stayed yellow for two seconds.

"I think they have their place, but they have to be applied in a more reasonable fashion," he said, referring to the cameras.