Introduction. The rapidly developing modern society places increasingly high demands on employees of law enforcement agencies. Today, an internal affairs officer must be able to predict the course of events, the behavior of persons of operational interest, foresee the result of his professional activities, and be able to make optimal decisions in the face of sudden changes in the situation. All of these skills are involved in the ongoing process of professional forecasting. In this regard, the formation of predictive skills seems to be one of the most important tasks facing the system of professional training of employees of internal affairs bodies. Methods. When carrying out the research, the general scientific dialectical method of cognition of the surrounding reality was used. In addition, the following were used: description method; method of logical comprehension; methods of analysis, classification and generalization, designed to systematize established facts and give them interpretation. Results. According to the author of the article, employees of internal affairs bodies, including employees of operational units, need to develop such a new competence as the ability to predict the development of events and their consequences when making decisions in the field of ensuring law and order against criminal attacks. The ability to predict the development of events and their consequences will allow police officers to more effectively solve professional problems related to combating crime, to plan their activities efficiently, making the necessary adjustments to them in a timely manner. The current state of higher education in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia allows students to master the skill of forecasting at a high level and develop as specialists who are able to independently make decisions when performing professional duties, choosing the most optimal ones.