Identification

• The main correlation between criminal justice and criminology is that they are both studies and career paths in the areas of law enforcement and crime prevention. However, criminal justice tends to deal more with police enforcement, corrections, courts and other real-world applications. Criminology, on the other hand, deals more with behavioral science, psychology and causes of crime from a human behavior and societal standpoint.
  
  

Careers

• Both criminal justice and criminology offer career options in the justice and legal fields. A background in criminal justice leads to careers in policing, security or other law enforcement. Criminologists work as research officers and in education, and for state and federal justice agencies as policy advisers.
  
  

Education

• There is strong correlation between the educational paths of criminal justice and criminology, and in many cases the two overlap. Students seeking a degree or certification in either field will be required to take many of the same courses.
  
  

Roles

• The practical applications of criminal justice and criminology correlate in a number of ways. For example, law enforcement personnel benefit from a psychological understanding of criminal behavior when dealing with perpetrators. Likewise, a criminologist working as a policy adviser needs considerable knowledge of law enforcement and judicial agencies.
  
  

Potential

• Because of the strong correlation between criminal justice and criminology, the career options overlap. While you could start out working as a corrections officer, your educational background and experience would benefit you if wanted to pursue a career as a criminal psychologist. Similarly, background in criminal statistics would be beneficial experience for work as a police detective.