Annotation. Introduction. Modern conditions of a rapidly changing society place higher demands on law enforcement officers. A future specialist in the field of internal affairs bodies should be able to predict the development of events, facts, and behavior of persons of operational interest to internal affairs bodies, anticipate the result of their professional activities and be able to make optimal decisions in the face of a sudden change in the operational situation. All these skills are an integral part of the continuous process of professional forecasting, and in this regard, the formation of such skills as predictive is one of the primary tasks in the system of professional training of employees of internal affairs bodies. Research methods. The general scientific dialectical method of cognition of the surrounding reality was used in the work. In addition, the method of description was used; the method of logical comprehension; analysis, classification and generalization, designed to systematize the facts we have established and interpret them. Results. According to the author, employees of the internal affairs bodies, including operational units, need to form a new competence – "The ability to predict the development of events and their consequences when making decisions in the field of ensuring law and order from criminal encroachments." The ability to predict the development of events and their consequences in the activities of police officers will allow them to most effectively solve the tasks in the field of combating crime, plan their professional activities, as well as make the necessary adjustments. The current state of higher education in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia allows students to master the ability to predict at a high level and transform into a specialist who is able to make decisions independently and find the most optimal solutions when performing professional tasks.
predictive skills, forecasting, professional training, training, operational and service activities, professional skills, competence, competence, specialist.