ALBANY — More than a third of the suspected traffic violations captured by the city of Albany's new red-light cameras were tossed by police investigators, according to the first report on the installations.

City police said 2,197 incidents were captured on camera and 841 — or 38 percent of them — were deemed insufficient for issuing a citation.

The numbers cover 22 cameras rolling from July to Oct. 2. Each camera records video and snaps photos of rear license plates of vehicles passing through a red light at certain intersections.

The data goes to a database monitored daily by one of 10 traffic safety officers, Albany police spokesman Officer Steve Smith said. The officers then use individual discretion to determine if the potential offense is an actual traffic violation, Smith said.

Cameras picked up 37 violations in the month of July, the first month the red-light cameras started rolling, but only nine citations were issued, Smith said.

Each citation comes with up to a $50 fine.

The intersection of Everett Road and Watervliet Avenue Extension accounted for almost half of the citations.

Red-light cameras have been a contentious issue since the idea was introduced in May 2014, with city officials saying the cameras will increase safety and others seeing the cameras as a way to make money.

More Information Top stops for citations Everett Road-Watervliet Avenue Ext.: 680Northern Boulevard-Shaker Road: 300Western Avenue and Russell Road: 97 Central and Colvin avenues: 76 Washington Avenue-Quail Street: 49 See More Collapse

The 1,356 citations — assuming each driver cited paid a $50 fine — would amount to more than $67,000.

State lawmakers last year granted Albany permission to establish a 5-year pilot program with the cameras that would end in 2020, and the Common Council voted 11-4 a year ago to move forward.

The New York chapter of Campaign for Liberty campaigned against the cameras last year via robocall, calling the cameras a government overreach and a way of extorting citizens.

The city later scaled back the number of red-light cameras it intended to install by more than 40 percent — from 64 proposed cameras to the eventual target number of 36.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan said last week the city expects to bank between $100,000 and $200,000 in revenue from the red-light cameras this year, due to the time it took to get the cameras online. The city has proposed budgeting $1.9 million in red-light camera revenue for 2016, but the council has yet to approve that budget.