ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – Working together is often more effective than working alone, and the cities of O’Fallon and St. Charles are joining forces in the development of a landmark regional law enforcement training center.

It’s the first of its kind in Missouri, setting a new standard of safety. For years, various law enforcement associations, along with the St. Charles County Economic Development Council, have advocated for this new facility.

“It’s something that’s really needed around here because there’s nothing around here even in the states that touch us that have a training facility of this size with all the amenities under one roof,” O’Fallon Police Department Chief Frank Mininni said. “You want the police officers that are on the streets who are dealing with us to come up with the training—come up with what’s needed out there because they’re the ones who know.”

The Chief of St. Charles City PD Ray Juengst commented, “It’s just something you don’t have in the metro area, and it’s going to be something that draws from the entire region.”

The center, which is fully conceptualized and planned by police officers, will bring real-world experience and knowledge to the new generation of officers in a one-stop-shop format.

K-9, drone, and SWAT training will all take place at the new facility. Some additional features include a 200-yard rifle and pistol range, a one-mile emergency vehicle operations course, a two-story, 11,000-square-foot simulation house, and a main campus building with seven state-of-the-art classrooms.

“The communities that we police expect that. They expect us to be well trained and we want to provide that for our officers so they can provide that for the community,” Juengst added.