John Long was appointed as Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) in April 2008. He is responsible for Territorial Operations across all six BCUs.

On his initial appointment, as well as being the Chief Officer responsible for Criminal Justice, John was appointed as the first ACC with singular responsibility for policing in Bristol. Following portfolio changes in 2010, John continues his Bristol responsibilities, although now along with the Territorial Operations for the other BCUs.

John is no stranger to the area as he has served with the Constabulary since June 2003 when he joined Avon and Somerset from the Metropolitan Police Service.

He began his career with the Met in 1984 after spending two years working as an economist on the project to build the Metro system in Newcastle.

During his ten years in the capital he worked in various locations across London and served during the Brixton and Broadwater Farm riots of the 80s, the Clapham and Ladbroke Grove rail disasters and the poll tax riots of the early 90s.

As Superintendent Head of Operations in Wandsworth John was the Gold Commander for the annual University Boat Race.

He joined Avon and Somerset in June 2003 as Superintendent in the Headquarters operations department. His responsibilities included the policing of Europe's largest music festival – Glastonbury.

In April 2004 he moved to Bristol and played a key role in the amalgamation of the three Bristol BCUs into one.

In March 2005 he was promoted to Chief Superintendent and took over as BCU Commander of South Gloucestershire before moving back to Bristol to be BCU Commander in January 2007.

As the Avon and Somerset lead for Integrated Offender Management (IOM), John has successfully implemented IOM approaches in Bristol, and full implementation across the force went live in April 2011. Since early 2010, John has also been the ACPO national lead for IOM.

John is a trustee of the Bristol Drugs Project and Bristol Children's Trust. He is a member of the GWE Business West Advisory Board and the Common Purpose Advisory Board and Chairs the Bristol YOT Board. He is also a visiting lecturer at the University of the West of England and Newcastle University.

ACC John Long said: "As the Chief Officer responsible for Territorial Operations across the force, I am determined to ensure that we respond in every person's moment of need with absolutely the best level of policing service we can provide. In this way we will maintain and build the confidence in policing that our communities so much need and deserve.

"There are many others who wish to help and work alongside the Constabulary in tackling problems of crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. We receive wide-ranging support from the various Community Safety Partnerships, the business community and the voluntary sector, whether through co-operation, additional resources or stepping forward to deal with individual problems. And, of course, there are the often inspirational actions of the members of the public whom we serve. So many assist us to address and solve problems in their neighbourhoods, from helping us to prevent acts of terrorism to providing information on local anti-social behaviour."