Our mission
The National Crime Agency’s mission is to protect the public from serious and organised crime.
We do this by:
- Degrading the most harmful organised crime groups that pose a threat to the UK;
- Leading the national operational response to serious and organised crime in the UK.
You can read about the threat from serious and organised crime here
About us
The NCA currently employs more than 5,000 officers with a range of expertise and in a variety of roles to protect the public from serious and organised crime. Officers collect and analyse data and intelligence to understand the threat we face, and they investigate and relentlessly pursue criminals who cause the highest harm. They use forensics and surveillance to solve and stop crime, and they make sure the Agency keeps people, communities and the country safe by setting direction and providing access to the best skills, technology and tools.
The NCA’s headquarters are in London, with major hubs in Bristol, Birmingham and Warrington, as well as regional offices across the UK. To deliver our mission we work across the world with teams and officers based in more than 40 countries.
Organisation
The NCA was established by the Crime and Courts Act in 2013. We are an non-ministerial civil service department , operationally independent and accountable to Parliament thorough the Home Secretary.
How we work
We use advanced data analysis and intelligence collection to find and target the criminals that pose the greatest threat to the public, institutions and infrastructure. Our operational teams work to bring these criminals to justice, dismantle their groups and degrade the international networks that support them.
The NCA focusses its operational efforts:
- Upstream: Disrupting those at the top of the criminal chain who are responsible for the harm that organised crime causes to the UK, as well as the people and systems that support their activities and launder their money.
- Overseas: Tackling serious and organised crime at its source and en route to the UK, working alongside international partners to prevent criminal activity from reaching the UK’s streets.
- Online: Combatting the use of technology that allows criminals to plan their activity, exploit victims, and hide their criminal profits.
Leading the UK’s operational response
Our partners include police forces, HMRC, Border Force, the UK intelligence community, government departments and international organisations such as INTERPOL and EUROPOL. We also work closely with organisations in the private, charity, and regulatory sectors.
