BATON ROUGE (AP) — Police are targeting drunken drivers over the Labor Day weekend, with plans for sobriety checkpoints, increased patrols and other DWI enforcement initiatives, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission announced Wednesday.

The organization is providing $1.2 million to law enforcement agencies to cover the costs of the crackdown campaign, including more than 40,000 hours of expected overtime. Seventy-five agencies are participating in the DWI enforcement effort over the weekend, which is called ‘‘Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.’’

Lt. Col. John LeBlanc, executive director of the highway safety commission, said five of last year’s 12 highway deaths during the Labor Day weekend involved alcohol.

‘‘Our campaign this year concentrates on arresting impaired drivers and helping build strong cases that result in convictions for violators,’’ LeBlanc said.

The enforcement campaign includes a program designed to reduce the number of DWI suspects who refuse to take a blood alcohol test.

Judges will be on standby to sign search warrants giving police officers the authority they need to take blood samples from someone who refuses to submit to a breathalyzer, if the officers have probable cause to believe a driver is drunk, the highway safety commission said.

The safety commission said 409 people were killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents in Louisiana last year — nearly half of all highway deaths.