NEWBURYPORT - State and local police have already started to crack down on underage drinking and drunken drivers in anticipation of a busy New Year's weekend.

Amesbury police got started Wednesday, arresting or summonsing eight teenagers on alcohol-related offenses. The arrests are the work of a special task force started two weeks ago to track underage drinking and underage purchase of alcohol, Lt. Gary Ingham said. The charges included underage possession of alcohol, supplying alcohol to a minor and possession of marijuana.

Amesbury police also plan on having some patrols dedicated solely to tracking erratic driving. In the past week, Amesbury also made four arrests for driving while under the influence and issued numerous summonses for other traffic-, alcohol- and drug-related offenses, making virtually all of the traffic stops at night.

Rowley police cracked down in the past week as well, making three DUI arrests and arresting eight teens from Melrose over the weekend on charges of underage drinking.

The Newburyport Police Department and two of its officers were recognized this year by the state for clearing the roads of drunken drivers. Lt. Rick Seimasko said Newburyport will have increased patrols all weekend as well, and noted there is always the possibility of a police DUI checkpoint.

"We never say when we'll participate in a State Police checkpoint, but this is certainly the time of year you'd expect to see one," he said.

Drunken driving enforcement for state and local police is being backed by $1.1 million in funding from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security for state and local police to implement checkpoints and increase patrols.

As part of that funding, State Police are planning a series of eight sobriety check points beginning on Dec. 20 and running through Jan. 4, including in Essex County. Under legislation passed in 1990, sobriety checkpoints were made to be as quick as a stoplight and are meant to detect drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or narcotics.

Trooper Eric Benson, a state police spokesman, said that checkpoints are determined upon data and also locating an ideal place for pulling over cars. Route 1 in Salisbury and Newburyport has been a popular checkpoint in the past.

At the checkpoints, police use the "Batmobile," a 40-foot bus equipped with drug and alcohol screening devices, booking rooms and holding cells.

Benson said as funding has increased, fatalities have decreased. State police statistics show in the past four years, the percent of alcohol related crashes and fatalities have declined 19 percent statewide.

According to the state police, between January and September of 2007 in Massachusetts there were 78 sobriety checkpoints that yielded 555 driving-under-the-influence related arrests.

DUI Arrests On the Rise

2005 2006 2007

Total DUI arrests 13,335 14,068 15,591

Chemical test refusals 53% 46% 44%

Arrests with 3 or more Prior OUI Convictions 4.5% 3.7% 2.9%

Source: Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles