The paper elaborates on the term "police powers" from both a theoretical and legal standpoint. Following the introductory section, the second part of the paper offers a semantic analysis of the legal term "police power", whilst the third part deals with the structure of police powers. The fourth part considers general legal characteristics of police powers, whereas the fifth part focuses on demarcation in respect of other related terms. The author concludes that a police power in its nature is a type of power (public law prerogative), and that it differs from other similar terms in sense of its specific characteristics: coercive character, special purpose and necessity of its implementation for the purpose of discharging a police duty (task at hand). The differences between police powers, police measures and actions are not such as to require different legal regimes. If the reason for its use is an unfulfilled duty from an administrative legal relationship, and if its use falls within the limits of such legal relationship, the police power is subject to a legal regime of administrative action; the use of police powers in either criminal cases or cases of misdemeanour entails the procedural actions determined by the relevant procedural law.