JJ's education... or lack thereof

[SarahBeth]

Ok, so here's the thing. When a character goes away like Shawn, Belle or HagJr (Carrie) and they come back with an education that they weren't really gone long enough to get it's acceptable because during their absence we aren't watching story lines with them.

But JJ's police education is just stupid. It was what mid November that he said he wanted to join the Police Academy. Then in December he was supposedly in the Academy when he went looking for Abby with Lani. And now he has graduated and in uniform, working.

What a load of crap. It takes much more than a couple of months to go through the police academy. And if he wants to ever be a detective/sargent, in real life, he would have to get a degree in criminal justice.

Also there was next to no story about him being in the academy. It was "I want to join", then I guess he did though it wasn't really mentioned, then he gets a shoulder rub from Gabi saying he was training hard and finally a graduation is mentioned and he's hired and in uniform on the same day.

This was really done way too fast. I think just another month and more story about it would have made it make much more sense.

 

[Poirot]

JJ was off screen for quite some time, so altogether, it has been 3 months. Every state has different requirements to become a cop..some require a h.s. diploma, some want a bit of college, some want an associate degree, but will forego that if the person served in the military. And as we all know, Salem is an entity unto itself, so, whatever the requirements, JJ had what was necessary, did the training, passed all the tests.

 

[SarahBeth]

I'm not buying it. We saw JJ in several episodes. At funerals, telling Abby what to do with her life, worrying about Jenn and getting to know Gabi. All with little mention of the academy. With so little story about it, I just don't buy it at all. I get that budget wouldn't be available to show a scene with him and a bunch of recruits so I expected more talk about it. The way it went was JJ wanted to be a cop and voila, now he is. The uniform looks like a costume at this point. It's gonna take some time and seeing him actually doing police work to buy it.

 

[DrBakerFan]

And as we all know, Salem is an entity unto itself, so, whatever the requirements, JJ had what was necessary, did the training, passed all the tests.

This is why the Salem P.D. is so hopeless. Its standards are so abysmal that it would probably sign up Xander if his Uncle Vic decided to give him a break, bail him out, and recommend him to Roman. And based on the brevity of JJ's time in the Academy, it's training is sketchy and superficial. (Instead of serious criminal-justice related topics, there are probably courses on how to hang out in the Town Square, and ways to take care of personal business while on duty.)

 

[Poirot]

Well, JJ managed to get that jerk from the prison under control pretty fast...so, he learned something.
Hey, Philip went to one year of college and became head of Titan. Sami did not even finish high school, and had a high paying job at Titan (for the magazine). Belle had become a designer at one point, Lexie was both a doctor and then a cop and we never heard about training. Kate was a hooker, period...and has done pretty well for herself. Brady also had just a year of college, and head of Titan. Melanie had a month or two of nursing school, became a full fledged nurse! This is a Salem staple, get them out of high school, pretend they are in college for a few weeks, and Bam......big high paying job.

 

[DrBakerFan]

To JJ's credit, he did have to take a training course, however abbreviated, and study for tests. As a general rule Salem is one place that brings new meaning to "no experience needed," "it's not what you know, it's who you know," and the old Broadway show title, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. In fact, Salem U. really needs to offer only freshman courses since it's clear that a college degree is one thing that nobody in town needs on their resume.

 

[TamiBelle]

I'm not buying it. We saw JJ in several episodes. At funerals, telling Abby what to do with her life, worrying about Jenn and getting to know Gabi. All with little mention of the academy. With so little story about it, I just don't buy it at all. I get that budget wouldn't be available to show a scene with him and a bunch of recruits so I expected more talk about it. The way it went was JJ wanted to be a cop and voila, now he is. The uniform looks like a costume at this point. It's gonna take some time and seeing him actually doing police work to buy it.

Wait a month and he will be a detective like Lani, in no time at all.