CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said traffic cameras were installed for one reason -- safety.

In an interview with 5 On Your Side investigator Duane Pohlman, Jackson hammered his safety message home over and over.

"Again, I am saying it is about safety," he said.

However, Pohlman reported that snapshot of safety is not as clear as the mayor claims.

NewsChannel5 requested and received accident figures from seven traffic camera locations in Cleveland before and after the cameras were installed.

Video: Pohlman Confronts Mayor | Video: Motorists' Challenge | Video: Records | Video: East Cleveland | Images | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

At St. Clair Avenue and London Road, wrecks fell from two to one, and at Lakeshore and East 159th Street, it went down from one collision to zero, officials said.

Pohlman reported that at Clifton Boulevard and West 11th Street, wrecks went up from two to six. Down the road at Clifton Boulevard and West 104th Street, wrecks increased from zero to three. And at Chester Avenue and East 55th Street, there were 15 collisions before the camera was installed, and 20 after.

At the seven intersections, Pohlman said there were 28 collisions before the cameras were installed and 39 after the cameras were installed.

Pohlman asked Warner Mendenhall, an Akron attorney, "Is this about safety?"

"Absolutely not. It's clearly hurting people to put red-light cameras in place, and that's wrong," Mendenhall said.

He and his wife Kelly are leading a class-action lawsuit to get rid of the traffic cameras across Ohio. He is not surprised by what Pohlman found.

"It's very clear that safety is not the issue. There are studies throughout the country that show accidents actually increase," Mendenhall said.

Cities reporting increases:

• Greensboro, N.C. -- 40 percent increase
• Anne Arundel County, Md. -- 41 percent increase
• Marietta,Ga. -- 51 percent increase
• Ontario, Canada -- 15 percent increase
• Winnipeg, Candada -- 58 percent increase

Pohlman also said rear-end crashes are skyrocketing. In Portland, Ore., there has been a 140 percent hike in rear-end collisions.

In Virginia, a traffic camera pilot program was tabled after the study found that rear-end crashes were up 50 to 71 percent, injury crashes increased 7 to 24 percent, and total crashes were up 8 to 17 percent after the cameras were installed.

But in Cleveland, East Cleveland, Akron and eight other Ohio cities, red-light and speed cameras continue.

While Jackson said the cameras are designed for safety, Pohlmand said, the numbers say something else.

"It is not safety. It's not about the school kids call. It's not about the safety. It’s about money," Mendenhall said.