The Garland County District Court is introducing a new program to help people having trouble paying their fines. It is designed to give those not able to afford a payment plan or facing jail time other options. "We want people to know our goal isn't collecting money or locking people up," a court spokesman said. The court is comparing the new program to what schools call corporal punishment. They are calling it Whip & Release.
With Whip & Release, defendants will be able to choose from a number of alternative
punishment options. "We'll be offering people a chance to substitute their jail sentences
and fines for time served as test subjects for law enforcement training exercises." Some of the options available in the program are taser training, pepper spray training, K-9 takedown training without protective gear and a new form of MMA takedown training for law enforcement.
According to court officials, they are coordinating with HSPD and GCSO to set up a beta testing phase. When fully rolled out it will only be available to those with traffic violations and non-violent misdemeanor offenses.
"We want out of the business of locking people up for not having any money on minor offenses."