Napa County law enforcement officers went hunting for those at large on drunken driving-related warrants over the weekend.

They arrested five people on outstanding warrants and seven people on suspicion of new drunken driving charges Friday and Saturday, according to Napa Police Sgt. Tom Pieper.

The effort was part of the county’s “Avoid the 9” campaign. Nine county agencies have joined together to ramp up drunk driving enforcement and prevention.

Pieper said he felt the campaign was productive last weekend.

“We got some DUI drivers off of the street who could have caused an accident and hurt somebody,” he said.

The campaign will also have a DUI check point this Labor Day weekend somewhere in Napa County. Additional units will be on patrol, looking for drunken drivers.

Last weekend’s sweep was geared to clear some of the 2,400 warrants for DUI-related charges in Napa County, Pieper said.

Most were issued after those charged with a DUI or driving on a suspended license failed to show up for a court hearing. The warrants could also be for violation of probation, failure to pay fines or failure to complete a court-ordered program.

Law enforcement officers attempted to serve 28 of those warrants on Friday night between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., and an additional 22 on Saturday morning. They arrested four people on warrants on Friday and one on Saturday.

Police also found two children had been left home alone in one case and called their mother home from work to care for them.

After 10 p.m., officers switched to roving drunken driving patrols and by            3 a.m. had made seven arrests.

The Avoid the 9 campaign has been operating in the past several years under “Avoid the 6.” Three more agencies joined in this year.

Money for the program comes through the California Office of Traffic Safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The nine law enforcement agencies are: the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, the Napa Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, St. Helena Police Department, Calistoga Police Department, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Napa Valley College, American Canyon Police Department and Napa County Probation.

Pieper said he was unsure how Napa County compares to other areas in terms of drunken driving rates.

“I think every community has a problem with DUIs, and that’s why so much money is filtered down to the states from the feds,” Pieper said.

DUI arrests have been on the rise in the county, particularly within Napa city limits.

Between January 2008 and August 2008,  Napa police  arrested 198 people on suspicion of drunk driving, and the sheriff’s office made 207 arrests.

During that same period this year, the police department made 502 arrests, and the sheriff’s office made 235.

Pieper attributes this spike within the city to grant money that has allowed the department to beef up DUI patrols and checkpoints. Officers have also undergone recent training on detecting drunken drivers.

Napa County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Tracey Stuart said she is unsure if the rise is due to more proactive patrol or more drunken drivers.

Either way, arresting drunken drivers is important for residents’ safety, police say.

“Getting the drunk drivers off the road before they injure or take someone’s life in a collision is the really important part,” Stuart said.