Introduction. The article presents and substantiates the signs that reveal the content of the definition of "professional crime" as a separate type of crime requiring a comprehensive criminological study. Materials and methods. The research materials were the results of scientific research on criminology, the norms of the current legislation of the Russian Federation and certain neighboring countries, departmental regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia regulating the procedure for crime prevention, statistical information from the Federal State Institution "GIAC of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia". In the course of the research, the dialectical method was applied, the analysis of scientific, regulatory and legal sources was carried out, methods of generalization and grouping of data, as well as the method of comparative jurisprudence were used. The results of the study made it possible to substantiate the presence of characteristic features for professed criminality. To consider this type of crime through the system of preventive registration of persons of the district police commissioner (hereinafter referred to as the UUP) who have committed intentional crimes, as well as to identify criteria according to which these persons pose an increased public danger requiring additional control by law enforcement agencies, and are considered special subjects to whom special preventive measures are applicable. Conclusions and conclusions. The analysis of legislation and scientific literature made it possible to reveal the signs of professed criminality as an independent type of crime, through which the content of the definition of "professed criminality" was presented, and criteria were identified that make it possible to consider persons registered as special subjects to whom special preventive measures are applicable.