Traffic safety gives Newport $200,000

Newport Beach police will receive nearly $200,000 in state money for its DUI enforcement program. The Newport Beach City Council approved the grant Tuesday night.

The police department will have $192,000 budgeted for DUI checkpoints, extra patrols focused on DUI enforcement, and other alcohol awareness methods, from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2010.

The money comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The city pays for overtime costs associated with enforcement up front and is reimbursed by the state, according to the City Council staff report.

The grant will fund six DUI checkpoints, 110 DUI saturation patrols, two DUI court sting operations, where police hide out near the Harbor Justice Center to catch people driving to court with suspended licenses.

— Joseph Serna