LAPD is already looking for DUI drivers and will put extra focus on this Chatsworth intersection

The Los Angeles Police Department began stepping up its DUI enforcement efforts earlier this month and will double down on efforts to catch drivers under the influence over the Labor Day weekend.

Aside from its general “saturation patrols,” in which additional LAPD officers will be on city streets looking for drivers who may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the department is operating a number of DUI checkpoints over the holiday weekend.

One of those checkpoints is in the San Fernando Valley.

From 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31, until 1 a.m. the following morning, the LAPD will conduct a DUI checkpoint at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and San Jose Street in Chatsworth.

Labor Day weekend is a dangerous and deadly time for alcohol-related crashes, the LAPD said in a news release.

During the 2017 Labor Day holiday period (Sept. 1-5), 376 people were killed nationwide in crashes, and 36 percent of those involved a driver under the influence, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In California, on Labor Day alone in 2018, two people were killed and 31 others injured in traffic crashes, the LAPD noted.