These police departments are seeing some of the worst staffing shortages in the US ahead of 2023

Police departments in cities across the United States, including New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, are dealing with staffing shortages heading into 2023.

"I think this could be a generational problem," Branter-Smith said when asked how long she expects the staffing issues to last. "This could go on for years. Even if, let's say, I could flip a magic switch tomorrow, and everyone loved the police and every kid in America wanted to be a cop … it takes nine months to a year from the date of hire for a person to become a police officer. So, there's one problem. Even if we could fix this tomorrow, it'll be a year before any of those staffing issues are addressed." Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for FOX Business and Fox News. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.

The Seattle Police Department lost 400 officers between 2020 and 2022, and the city's number of deployable officers dropped to 954 this year — the city's lowest police population in 30 years, according to Mayor Bruce Harrell. The city has also seen a 40% decrease in detectives available for investigative work and an increase in overtime expenses.