Meet Dr David Patton

Dr Patton is an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Derby’s Social, Cultural and Legal Research Centre. He is an international keynote speaker and has presented his research at the United Nations. His work is published in many leading international journals.

Dr David Patton’s research draws upon the lived experience of people recovering from addiction and rehabilitating from offending histories to co-produce new visions of how the criminal justice system and society can be radically transformed to promote human flourishing.

Through his work with individuals previously struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction, Dr. David Patton challenges a prevailing myth in behavioural change psychology, showing that pain is not necessarily the primary motivator for transformation. Waiting for a range of painful life events or rock-bottom moments as the catalyst for motivating someone to turn their life around often only creates more harm and suffering. Rather, a range of pull factors appear to propel a person forward to make sustained changes despite dire life circumstances. This work decentres the gaze from the individual to the societal and structural factors.

He is the Director of New Central Media, a knowledge hub that seeks to tell a different story by working with a range of ‘vulnerable and marginalised’ groups. At the heart of the approach at New Central Media is connection, collaboration, community, and creativity. What the works has uncovered is that the beliefs, values, and practices of these groups offer antidotes to societal ills relating to isolation, loneliness, individualism, competition, materialism and consumption to offer pathways toward well-being and an improved quality of life.

Dr Patton was a Senior Researcher at the University of Cambridge and has worked on projects funded by the Home Office, ESRC, NIHR and the Big Lottery Fund, as well as numerous local authority initiatives. He is currently developing an international series of local drug recovery evidence bases using Photovoice linked to Recovery Organisations. In this project, individuals in drug recovery use photography as a tool to offer others a glimpse into their journey, allowing them to showcase what strategies and practices are effective for them in their recovery journey.

In addition to being an academic and activist, he is also a Life Coach, MBTI (Myers Briggs) Personality and BELBIN team roles consultant and Interpersonal Conflict Mediator.