Career
He was formerly the Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, and took up the role of Director-General when the NCA commenced operations on 7 October 2013. Bristow joined West Mercia Constabulary as a cadet and served in uniformed and Criminal Investigation Department roles. In 1997, as a Detective Chief Inspector, he was appointed staff officer to the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
In 1998 he was promoted Detective Superintendent and seconded to the West Midlands Police Major Investigation Team, later transferring to the force permanently, where he served as operations manager and director of intelligence.
Promoted to Chief Superintendent, he commanded an operational command unit in Birmingham. In 2002, he was promoted Assistant Chief Constable and became a director of the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
In 2005, he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police and in July 2006 became Chief Constable. He is also chair of the G8 Law Enforcement Group and from 2009 to 2011 was head of crime at ACPO, having previously been head of violence and public protection and of criminal use of firearms.
He was the first British graduate of the European Top Senior Police Officer Course and holds a master"s degree in organisational development, a postgraduate diploma in management studies, and a diploma in applied criminology.
In October 2011, Home Secretary Theresa May, announced that Bristow would head the new National Crime Agency, which began operations two years later in October 2013. As of 2015, Bristow was paid a salary of £225,000 by the agency, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time. On 26 November 2015, it was announced that he would be standing down in January 2016.
He was succeeded by Lynne Owens, the former Chief Constable of Surrey Police, on 4 January 2016.