About Me
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Nick Gravenor's Experience
I am compassionate, caring and driven. My volunteer work, Policing career and achievements in adverse, stressful and traumatic situations demonstrate that I am focused and dedicated to engaging with people and problems and understanding their needs. I am skilled at problem-solving in a variety of settings.
With nearly 20 years’ experience in Policing, ranging from frontline urgent response to neighbourhood patrol and engagement to Public Disorder Training in riot situation and finally within CID investigating serious and complex crimes I have a huge amount of training and experience in problem solving, investigation, negotiation and engagement. The latter part of my career saw my investigating complex frauds, serious assaults and cybercrime involving both Cyber-dependent crimes and Cyber-enabled crimes to name but a few. During my career I successfully completed Investigator exams and training and also promotion exams to the rank of Sergeant. I have experience in managing Officers from the role of acting Sergeant in both uniform and CID reviewing workloads, providing case direction and conducting critical evidential reviews. I have experience in planning anything from a strategy or case conference meeting to the execution of a warrant involving teams of specialist officers and forensic experts. I have vast experience analysing situations, documents and individuals, creating detailed written legal reports and negotiating outcomes.
As a tutor and mentor within the Police I have considerable experience training and supporting new or existing staff and officers in becoming effective and lawful. Within the role I have experience working with, for example, staff or Special Constables with disabilities such as dyslexia and or mental health struggles that are failing. Supporting colleagues with their own challenges is hugely rewarding, but has its difficulties.
I am a committed team player, but also confident in leading staff in a way that encourages them to excel. I prefer to inspire others lifting their confidence and promoting their skills and strengths. If your staff feel valued, they will do more for your business. This is demonstrated not simply by my role in the Police, but also in the work I have done leading dyslexia support. As well as supporting staff the role involved looking at assistive technologies and how to integrate specialist solutions into Policing.
On leaving the Police, rather than retiring and putting my feet up, I began looking for a new challenge. I have always wanted to study towards a degree, but the time has never been right. Leaving the Police gave me the perfect opportunity. I have always been passionate about technology, so in 2020 I decided to go to University full time as a mature student and study Cyber Security Management and Software Engineering over 4 years learning programming languages including Java, HTML, CSS, SQL, JavaScript and Python.
Whilst in the Police I realised an opportunity to develop my communication skills. In my own time I attended College studying Counselling. I wanted to better understand how the mind works and develop my communication skills. I successfully completed level 3 and the first year of a two-year level 4 course accredited by the Counselling & Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body. This training, focusing on humanistic, including Person Centred, Existential, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt approaches to counselling, gave me a fantastic insight to how the mind works and how people deal with social interactions.
I have been a volunteer Ambulance Community First Responder between 2015 and 2020. I loved the role in contrast to my experience as a Police Officer. It allows me to help people in their time of need in a different way.
Outside of my career I love the outdoors. I love sailing, walking, archery and skiing to name but a few. After leaving School I undertook professional training in Commercial Yacht skippering and sailing instructor training. I maintain my love of sailing today, but as a hobby rather than commercially.
I am immensely proud of my achievements and successes and the help and support I have been able to give people in their time of need along with a number of commendations and awards from chief officers.
I am excited about the future and new challenges. I am keen to transfer these valuable experiences, skills and training into industry and build on them.
Thank you for your time, Nick Gravenor.