Criminal changed course, we're told; that's touching (7)
I believe the answer is:
contact
'that's touching' is the definition.
(contact is a kind of touching)
'criminal changed course we're told' is the wordplay.
'criminal' becomes 'con' (abbreviation for 'convict').
'changed course' becomes 'tacked' (as in changing tack).
'we're told' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'tacked' is a homophone of 'tact'.
'con'+'tact'='CONTACT'
(Other definitions for contact that I've seen before include "Talk to" , "securing current passage" , "Get hold of" , "Touch - electrical point" , "state of one exposed to disease" .)