violation vs criminal offense

violation and criminal offense both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
violation	Yes	No	No	No
criminal offense	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, criminal offense is a hypernym of violation; that is, criminal offense is a word with a broader meaning than violation:

violation: a crime less serious than a felony
criminal offense: (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act

Other hypernyms of violation include crime, criminal offence, law-breaking.

violation (noun)	criminal offense (noun)
a crime less serious than a felony	(criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act
entry to another's property without right or permission
the crime of forcing a person to submit to sexual intercourse against his or her will
a disrespectful act
an act that disregards an agreement or a right