The infamous North Hollywood Shootout took place in 1997. Two bank robbers confronted Los Angeles police officers, who were initially armed only with handguns. The robbers, wearing homemade body armor, were far better armed, carrying rifles. Although ultimately defeated, the robbers inflicted substantial human cost. Several officers and civilians were wounded. Some were maimed for life.

If the police had had rifles, they could have equaled that firepower. Law enforcement experts suggest that this would have resulted in fewer casualties among citizen bystanders and police officers alike (Sharps, 2022).

Many types of weapons are inappropriate for law enforcement. Paradoxically, however, if perpetrators have weapons far superior to those of the police, many more people can be killed or maimed. The police need, at least, to match the firepower of their assailants.

Why didn’t the Los Angeles officers at the time have rifles? Why weren’t they properly armed for the modern crime environment?

The answer is psychological.

Battles of the past involved horses and swords; battles of the present involve high-tech weaponry. However, if we look past the technological issues, the basic principles of psychology are remarkably similar in the past and present. We can learn a great deal by looking at the high-stress psychology of the past (Sharps, 2022).

This is where the strategic bombing comes in.

In 1942, the United States set a heavy bomber force, based in England, against the German Luftwaffe. The British had already done the same; and in daylight raids, British bombers had been slaughtered, because there were as yet no fighter aircraft able to escort the bombers on the full round trip to Nazi targets. The British changed their........

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