Two state-of-the-art construction projects — one just getting underway, the other recently completed — are aimed at modernizing Ohio’s forensic and officer-training infrastructure to bolster crimefighting efforts statewide.
“The daily sacrifice to protect and serve takes real courage,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in publicly announcing the projects on March 25. “The very least we can do for our law enforcement is give them the best version of the tools and resources they need.”
To that end, construction of a free-standing Evidence Collection Building is underway in London at the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a division of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
The 6,700-square-foot structure, located behind BCI’s main building, will dramatically increase the bureau’s capacity to store evidence long-term, enhance the storage process and provide investigators with much-needed room for all aspects of their work.
“Over the years, the increase in requests for BCI assistance — laboratory and investigatory — has been pretty substantial,” said Josh Durst, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the bureau’s Technical Investigations Division. “Correspondingly, the amount of evidence we receive — and that we ultimately have to store — has increased.”
On the same day that BCI broke ground on its building, the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy, also part of Yost’s office, celebrated the opening of its dramatically upgraded firing range at OPOTA’s Tactical Training Center, also in London.
The sprawling 18,000-square-foot facility allows for dynamic, “move-and-shoot” training during which officers can use cover and make critical decisions as if on the streets — a big improvement over “static” lane shooting.
“The dynamic part makes it unique,” said Robert Graziano, OPOTA’s Director of Academy Operations. “It’s not just a firing range; it’s a training center. In all my travels, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Both projects reflect the high priority that Attorney General Yost has placed on properly training and equipping Ohio’s peace officers. The combined cost of $10.88 million was funded by the General Assembly in the state’s 2025-26 capital-improvements budget.
Here’s a closer look at the projects:
BCI evidence building
It was really only a question of when.
With BCI fielding a growing number of requests from law enforcement agencies in need of assistance, the Crime Scene Unit lacking sufficient space for evidence storage and its day-to-day work, and the DNA Lab processing thousands of samples a year, expansion was inevitable.
“It was clear about a year after we launched our Cold Case Unit in 2020 that BCI’s evidence collection facility was at a breaking point,” Yost said.
The space crunch was compounded not only by the Cold Case Unit’s creation but also by a significant increase in requests for BCI to investigate officer-involved critical incidents. For the latter, the bureau must maintain possession of all evidence until a case is adjudicated, a process that can take several months or even years.
The new building will have plenty of room for that evidence as well as evidence gathered from rapes, homicides, questioned deaths and other violent crimes.
“It can include ballistic evidence — such as firearms, projectiles and cartridge casings — as well as biological evidence and trace evidence, such as fingerprints and fibers,” Durst said. “Really, the sky’s the limit for what types of evidence we may encounter and need to store.”
BCI’s ability to preserve DNA long-term will also be greatly expanded in the new building.
“What we’re talking about storing there is called a DNA extract,” said DNA Lab Manager Hallie Dreyer. “Those extracts are what contain the DNA profiles that we ultimately utilize for our casework interpretation. The extracts need to be stored under ideal conditions to prevent degradation or loss of samples over time.”
Heat, light and moisture, among other things, aren’t good for DNA, she said.
The building will have five freezers with fixed and movable shelving for DNA storage. There also will be space allocated for freezers to be added in the future, as needs warrant.
“This is important because every case that comes through BCI’s door typically has DNA extract developed from samples,” Attorney General Yost said. “The samples are maintained to generate DNA profiles for comparison and stored long-term. As advances in forensics continue, properly preserved DNA extracts allow for advanced testing that previously wasn’t developed or otherwise available.”
Most immediately, the new building will provide a permanent home for the Crime Scene Unit, which has been operating out of an 800-square-foot maintenance garage bay.
Among other amenities, the building will have an indoor station for vehicle processing and for maintaining the unit’s trucks, workstations for investigators to process or package evidence, and a conference room for debriefings and meetings.
“It will meet both present and future needs,” Yost said at the ground-breaking ceremony. “It’s amazing to think that, by late next year, this plot of dirt will become something that will meet BCI’s needs for decades to come.”
OPOTA training range
Five years ago, a state-of-the-art firearms training facility was just an idea — a pipe dream, some even suggested.
“A lot of my guys told me this wasn’t going to happen,” AG Yost said. “Well, we have a hard-working team that proved them wrong. They overcame many hurdles to make this facility possible.”
The sprawling complex — which, unlike OPOTA’s previous range, is under roof and climate-controlled — makes it possible for officers to train 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“Policing today demands more than technical skills,” OPOTA Executive Director Tom Quinlan said. “It requires officers who can think clearly under pressure, make sound decisions, and apply tactics that prioritize safety and the sanctity of life. This facility was built with that reality in mind.”
In short, Graziano said, the new facility is much more than a firing range.
“What we do here and what law enforcement needs in 2026 is the ability to move and use critical decision-making,” he said. “We’re doing real-world training in this environment. This space doesn’t just limit us to firearms training.”
He noted that OPOTA has a portable “shoot house” that can be adjusted to any configuration.
Say, for example, that a law enforcement team is ready to serve a warrant and the layout of the residence is known.
“I can set that up in training so the officers can prepare,” he said. “Or I can set up blind environments, and officers can watch their tactics, making sure they’re doing threat identification and using critical decision-making.”
Vehicles can be incorporated onto the shooting range to simulate traffic stops, or the space can be reconfigured for force-on-force training, bringing greater realism into a controlled and safe environment.
In addition, training conditions can be adjusted to low lighting or no lighting, which reflects 70% of law enforcement shootings in real life.
Another notable change involves the ammunition used in training. The original facility accommodated only frangible-style ammo, which is made with alloys, not lead; costs twice as much as regular ammunition; and, most important, is less accurate for real-world training.
“Our officers needed a space that could handle lead ammunition,” AG Yost said. “They need to know what that bullet does in the scenario in which they may need to pull the trigger. They use lead ammo in the field, so they need to use lead in training.”
In many ways, Graziano said, the facility “sets the standard for others who are developing training areas.”
Or, as AG Yost put it, “There’s status quo — and then there’s making the leap to become standard-bearing.”
BCI building highlights
- 6,700 square feet of space
- Five freezers with fixed and movable shelving and built-in expansion for additional freezer space in the future, with space for DNA extracts to meet BCI needs for the next 30 to 50 years
- Dedicated rooms for photos, chemical handling, drying, staging, evidence and general storage
- An indoor station for vehicle processing and Crime Scene Unit truck maintenance
- Workstations for agents to process or package evidence
- A conference room for debriefings and meetings
- A bunk room for agents to rest between crime scenes
Gun range highlights
- 18,000 square feet of open range for training
- Adjustable shooting layouts
- 100% climate-controlled
- Training opportunities 24 hours a day,
- 365 days a year
- Ability to train in low light or no light
- Dynamic range environment, allowing officers to use critical decision-making while moving, using cover and learning to accurately resolve life or death issues
- Ability to use vehicles to simulate traffic stops and subject encounters
- Upgraded HVAC system, providing the ventilation needed for use of lead ammunition
- Improved sound absorption
To watch a video about BCI's new evidence storage facility, go to
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPADNOW-fK0