Gavin was Deputy Director of the Police Foundation from May 2014 to May 2017. Previously, Gavin was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (Birkbeck College) working on a study of misconduct by chief police officers for the College of Policing. Gavin has extensive experience as a researcher working on crime and policing issues and has previously worked as a consultant for NatCen Social Research, and for the University of Essex, the Metropolitan Police Strategic Research Unit, and the University of Portsmouth.