Criminology and criminalistics are two related fields that study crime and the criminal justice system. Criminology is a branch of sociology that helps scientists and society understand crime and those who commit criminal acts, as well as how to prevent crime. Criminalistics, on the other hand, is the application of scientific techniques to the detection and investigation of crimes.

The branches of criminology include:

• Penology: The study of punishment of crime and penitentiary management.
• Sociology of Law: The systematic, theoretically founded and empirical study of law, as a set of social practices or as an aspect or field of social experience.
• Victimology: The study of victimization, including relationships between victims and offenders, interactions between victims and the criminal justice system, and connections between victims and other social groups and institutions such as the media, companies, and social movements.
• Criminal Anthropology: A field of profiles of offenders, based on the perceived links between the nature of a crime and the offenders personality or physical appearance.
• Criminal Demography: The study of the characteristics of criminals, including their age, gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
• Criminal Psychology: The study of human behavior in relation to crimes.
• Criminal Psychiatry: The study of the human mind in relation to crimes.
• Criminal Etiology: The study of the causes of crime.

The branches of criminalistics include:

• Trace Evidence Analysis: The analysis of trace evidence such as fingerprints, tire marks, and footprints.
• Biological Evidence Analysis: The analysis of biological evidence such as blood, saliva, and hair.
• DNA Evidence Analysis: The analysis of DNA evidence to identify suspects or victims.
• Forensic Psychology Analysis: The application of clinical specialties to the legal field, including the evaluation of the human brain in crime.

It is worth noting that there is some overlap between the branches of criminology and criminalistics, as both fields are concerned with understanding and preventing crime.