On Jan. 13, the San Jose City Council approved the grant, which will be used by the San Jose Police Department for its sobriety checkpoint program.

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of victims killed and injured in alcohol-related crashes. Four separate DUI checkpoints will be set up between Dec. 1, 2003, and Sept. 30, 2004, which is the grant's funding period.

The first two checkpoint stations were held on Dec. 19 and Dec. 28. On Dec. 19, San Jose Police Department Sgt. Ruben Chavez said 1,881 vehicles were screened, with 12 arrested. And 1,643 vehicles were checked and two arrests were made on Dec. 28.

Although he said the number of arrests was lower than he expected, the checkpoints are also an opportunity for officers to check for valid California drivers' licenses. He said that 90 people were found to have either no license or a suspended license through the process. Checkpoints are generally set up between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., with one lane shut down in both directions of the street.

Sgt. Chavez says a typical vehicle at a checkpoint will be greeted by an officer, then the driver will be asked if any alcohol was consumed. If the officer senses the driver is intoxicated, the car will be pulled out of the checkpoint line and the officer will conduct a sobriety exercise to gauge the driver's level of sobriety.

The next two checkpoints will occur at the end of June and the beginning of July, according to Chavez, although specific locations have not been chosen.

The state of California will provide $39,920 in reimbursements to the city of San Jose for the program's related enforcement. The funding for the program comes from grants that are part of the city's general fund.

According to budget director Larry Lisenbee, the program is in line with the general principles of Mayor Ron Gonzales' budget strategy to be open to alternative avenues of delivering services through appropriate community partnerships.