Unless Cincinnati police start completing recruit classes every nine months, the staffing levels for the department could drop drastically in six years, officials said.
Police Chief Theresa Theetge, Sgt. Dwayne Wilson and human resources director Ed Ramsey gave an update to Cincinnati's public safety and governance committee Tuesday.
Theetge has been working to address staffing shortages and recruitment troubles since last year.
In September, Cincinnati's police union president called the situation a "crisis" at a time when the department was more than 100 officers short of its authorized level of 1,059.
Ramsey said if the situation was left unchecked in 2029, staffing would fall to a projected 894 officers, nearly 200 officers short of a full staff.
