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The regulations for the prevention and control of urban fires in the eighteenth century offer considerable insights into the transformations of early modern police. The repetitiveness of these texts conceals subtle shifts in police practice, and their analysis provides insights into the modes of writing regulations and the development of police know-how. Focusing on the case of Lille in French Flanders, this paper shows that regulations were part of a “patient pedagogy” that aimed not only to make the population aware of what could and could not be done, but also to remind officers of what behaviour was and was not allowed. Regulations thus invite us to think less in terms of the effectiveness of police action and more in terms of teaching the norm and building repertoires that have helped to turn police officers into a specialised professional category.