THINK of traffic cops and you might begin to picture speeding tickets and motorway gridlock.

You might also recall the time you were booked for having dodgy brake lights or balding tyres. Maybe you had even forgotten to renew your tax disc.

Amid reports of rising violent crime, some of us might ask if the police should be doing more to catch "real" criminals such as murderers and rapists instead of targeting the motorist.

These are the views police officers at Amersham Traffic Base face every day and night as they work through their shifts patrolling some of the busiest motorway junctions and roads in Europe.

But while traffic officers like Sgt Phil Haseler are clear about what their duties entail, they are also keen to reiterate that they are working to protect and safeguard the public rather than to penalise them.

"Our main role is to reduce casualties on the road and to do that we enforce road traffic legislation as well as trying to educate people.

"Every time you see us having stopped a motorist at the side of the road we are not necessarily giving them a ticket sometimes we use our discretion and try and advise them," he said.

Sgt Haseler, 38, based at Amersham Police Station, off King George V Road, added: "Maybe people show their true colours when they get behind the wheel of the car because much of the attitude shown on the roads really is quite appalling.

"Some drivers might not think anything of overtaking a whole queue of waiting traffic to get to a junction first but would they do that in McDonald's or anywhere else but the road? We have got to change these attitudes."

The Amersham base operates three shifts of nine constables and one sergeant every 24 hours.

The officers, who all have a first-class Home Office approved driving certificate, are allocated vehicles, mostly high powered Vauxhall Omegas, and patrol the M40 and M25 motorways as well as less major roads and the local area.

But since the early 1990s, the Amersham's traffic division has been operating on half-strength due to Government cutbacks and the officers admit morale is not at its highest.

Sgt Haseler explained: "Police morale goes up and down in peaks and troughs really. The police are generally criticised a lot more these days and people can tend to criticise the police just for the sake of it.

"Sometimes people will make a complaint against the police because they want to get off an offence. We had one chap who wrote a letter after being ticked off for not wearing a seat belt.

"He argued that it was his life and it was up to him whether he wore one. But what he didn't think about was that if you go through your windscreen it doesn't just affect you.

"It affects the NHS, ambulance staff, firefighters, the police and so on.

"But people may not be happy about the ticket they have been given."

PC Steve Bastin, also based at Amersham, added: "There is a lot of pressure on police officers at the moment.

"We are being expected to do more work and we have more responsibility. The paperwork just keeps on going up and up and up."

Sgt Haseler continued: "It's not like The Bill. We don't just arrest one person, bring them into the station and then go straight out again to arrest someone else.

"If we bring someone in for an offence then we will often be off the road for the rest of the shift.

"We get motorists saying to us 'why aren't you out there catching burglars, muggers and rapists?' but the fact is that we are out there catching them, on and off the road."

However, police officers do find it frustrating when a known offender gets off lightly through the courts.

Sgt Haseler explained: "It can be very frustrating and most officers feel upset about it.

"We just have to concentrate on doing our bit by catching those responsible for crime. The rest is up to the courts."

He added: "It is especially hard when you are dealing with fatal accidents.

"A lot of officers can get very close to the relatives of the deceased and when we've seen an offence has been committed it is very difficult."

But Sgt Haseler and PC Bastin say it is certainly not all doom and gloom on the road under the flashing blue lights.

Sgt Haseler explained: "It would be a lie if I said I never enjoyed this job.

"There is a certain amount of job satisfaction. When you go back to the victim of crime and give them the good news that you have caught the offender it is a great feeling."

PC Bastin added: "Catching the bad guy is always extremely satisfying."