Keith Bristow announced as the Head of the National Crime Agency

1 November 2011

The Home Secretary has announced that Keith Bristow has been appointed as the new head of the National Crime Agency (NCA) which comes into force in 2013.

Mr Bristow, the current chief constable of Warwickshire, said the NCA will mean law enforcement agencies will work together to ensure that "criminals are identified, and brought to justice, their groups dismantled and activities disrupted".

The appointment of Mr Bristow gives further momentum to the programme to build the NCA, both to manage the transition from the precursor agencies, including Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) and elements of the National Policing Improvement Agency, and to drive improvements to the national response to serious and organised crime ahead of the NCA’s formal establishment in 2013.

The Home Secretary said that Mr Bristow will develop an "agency of powerful, operational crime fighters". She said: "For too long we have lacked a strong, collaborative national response in the fight for criminal justice. The NCA will make the UK a more hostile environment for serious and organised crime and strengthen our border".

Mr Bristow has a background as national lead on crime for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), chair of the G8 law enforcement group and director of the National Criminal intelligence Service. He hopes to take up his appointment later this year.

(Article courtesy of the Home Office.)