Director General of the National Crime Agency

The Director General of the National Crime Agency is the head of the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom, and as such is responsible for the overall management of the NCA. The Director General is appointed by, and reports to, the Home Secretary,^[2] but is not directly part of the Home Office.^[3] The Director General is appointed on a five-year term basis, though this can be renewed (for another five-year term) or extended (for any period less than five years) at the Home Secretary's discretion.^[4] The Home Secretary's power to select and appoint the Director General, and determine the terms and conditions of their appointment, is provided by the Crime and Courts Act 2013.^[5]

Director General of the National Crime Agency
Incumbent Graeme Biggar since 5 October 2021
Reports to	Home Secretary Security Minister
Appointer	Home Secretary
Term length	5 years, terms renewable or extendable for less than 5 years
Inaugural holder	Keith Bristow
Formation	7 October 2013
Deputy	Rob Jones (Operations) James Babbage (Threats) Steve Rodhouse (Strategic Projects) Claire Smith (Chief Operating Officer)
Salary	£214,722[1]
Website	NCA.gov.uk

As the Director General is in charge of a national agency with jurisdiction and investigative powers across the entire country, this post is considered to be the most senior police role in the United Kingdom, outranking the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, as the Director General has the power to direct any chief constables and commissioners.^[6] The Director General is supported by three Deputy Directors General, in charge of Operations, Capabilities, and Economic Crime.^[7]

The current Director General is Graeme Biggar,^[8] who was appointed following the medical retirement of Lynne Owens.^[9]

NCA Directors General

#	Picture	Name	Term Began	Term Ended	Length	Prior Post	Home Secretary	Ref
1		Keith Bristow	7 October 2013	3 January 2016	2 years and 89 days	Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police	Theresa May	[10]
2		Dame Lynne Owens	4 January 2016	4 October 2021	5 years and 274 days	Chief Constable of Surrey Police		[11]
							Amber Rudd
							Sajid Javid
							Priti Patel	[12]
–		Graeme Biggar (interim)	5 October 2021	11 August 2022	311 days	Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre		[9]
3		Graeme Biggar	12 August 2022	Incumbent	3 years and 6 days	Interim Director General of the National Crime Agency (Concurrent Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre)		[13]
							Suella Braverman
							Grant Shapps
							Suella Braverman
							James Cleverly
							Yvette Cooper

See also

• Director General of MI5
• Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis