The article is devoted to the theoretical conceptualization of the instruments of criminal procedure policy and the development of criteria for distinguishing them from the instruments of criminal procedure activity and legal regulation. It is justified that the political and legal significance of a given instrument is determined not by its form, scale, or frequency of use, but by its capacity to express, implement, and reproduce a generalized choice of public authorities, thereby exerting an influence on the model of criminal proceedings or specific elements thereof. The value-based, regulatory, and functional characteristics of the instruments of the criminal procedure policy are examined. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the legality, legitimacy, and legal content of such instruments. The author demonstrates that, under exceptional historical circumstances, political influence may be exerted outside the existing legal order; however, the admissibility of such and instrument requires public legitimation and alignment with fundamental legal values. An original definition of the instruments of the criminal procedure policy is proposed, and the range of legal, as well as law-mediated, instruments for its formulation and implementation at the current stage of the development of social relations is identified.