My opinion is that the in-game academy is a necessary process that every recruit should go through. Mainly under a group environment with other recruits and Training Bureau personnel.
Settling in is a very important step into joining the Sheriff's Department. I'm thinking that it's way better to make a recruit feel comfortable and get a better grasp of their actions on the field by doing Custody and Patrol school roleplay, instead of removing the whole academy and throw them on the street where they have to do Field Training Patrols with FTOs (Field Training Officers) that take it seriously and don't allow many mistakes, ultimately leading to a bad interaction with the trainee and leaving them anxious and scared of the future DORs (Daily Observational Patrol).
Leaving some room for recruits to experience some fun roleplay during the classes and during custody would settle them the best and make a prime deputy out of them.
Some find the academy classes where you go over the manuals lenghty and boring, but contrary to that, the Training Bureau gets valuable information. Example would be whether the recruit receives information well, how they behave, their roleplay quality and engagement. That being said, stay active even during classes, the /me's and chats are being tracked and you will be graded internally and eventually booted out if you don't meet the requirements.
We've had the academies and the Training Bureau for the longest time and it's one of the key aspects in our faction. I wouldn't never consider a removal.
