Many scientific disciplines facilitate the solution of the basic problem law enforcement faces: uncovering and investigation of crimes. So, forensics, the science of investigative activities, develops means, techniques and methods aimed at improving the efficiency of this activity. Key categories in these scientific fields are forensic and investigative characteristics of crimes. General conclusion of the views of T. V. Averyanova, R. S. Belkin, S. A. Bessonov, A. Yu. Golovin, G. A. Gustov, N. N. Egorov, S. I. Zakhartsev, P. E. Ishchenko, V. D. Larichev, R. R. Nasyrov, E. F. Novikov, A. B. Svistelnikov, A. A. Toporkov, N. P. Yablokov and other scientists allowed the author to formulate each definition. Forensic characteristic of crimes is a system of data about forensically important interrelated features (elements), an information model, a probabilistic matrix, a description of crimes of a particular nature serving to build investigative leadscwhich are the basis of planning for the uncovering and investigation of these crimes. The foundation of forensic characteristic is structured and systematized information on investigated criminal cases; therefore, it is appropriate to speak not about forensic characteristic as a whole, but only part of it: forensic characteristic of uncovered crimes which is not applicable to all cases, and unable to solve its tasks in full. Investigative characteristic is an information paradigm, the system (sum) of most significant generalized (generic) attributes and properties for an individual species (group) of socially dangerous acts to solve problems of operational-investigative activities. Thus, forensic and investigative characteristics of crime have both common and distinctive components. Forensic characteristics create preconditions for their interpenetration; investigative characteristics demonstrate the independence of the considered concepts. The study results give the following conclusions. The crime is a complex social phenomenon that demands attention of many scientific directions, so it is impossible to represent this phenomenon as the study subject of one science. Commission of a crime is accompanied by occurrence of information flows of different nature. The result is the formation of a common information model of crime. Information flows are filtered by methods inherent and specific to each science, in particular of forensic and investigative activities. Accordingly, forensic, investigative and other characteristics of a crime are integral parts of a unified information model of a crime, and not vice versa.