ABSTRACT

In this chapter, I compare the use of time and space amongst probationers who were desisting from crime in England and Israel. The over-arching aim is to uncover the impact of social-structural factors on individuals who are desisting from crime and to explore how their experiences vary among countries and cultures. I found that English participants spent less time working and more time resting and in ‘home’ settings than their Israeli counterparts. I suggest that the social context around employment and criminal convictions in Israel, alongside the greater social capital, accounts for the observed variance in how participants spent their time. Furthermore, I propose that English and Israeli participants responded to similar obstacles in different ways; Israeli participants tended towards sociability, while English participants preferred to stay in home settings in order to overcome desistance-related obstacles. Another key finding that emerged was that religious traditions operated at a broader social level and shaped the time use of Israeli participants by encouraging certain behaviours, regardless of their level of religiosity or whether they ascribed to religious customs.