The Chief Constable of the PSNI has rejected claims that some officers have been forced to remove their guns before attending meetings in Sinn Féin offices and some public meetings in west Belfast and Derry.
The Police Federation, which represents rank and file police officers, has also said it is not aware of instances where any of its members were instructed to remove personal protection weapons.
The claims where made by Jon Burrows, an Ulster Unionist member of the Stormont Assembly and a former police officer.
He wrote to Chief Constable Jon Boutcher stating that members of Sinn Féin had "demanded that PSNI officers remove their personal protection firearms before entering Sinn Féin offices to deal with members of the public or on occasion when attending community meetings."
Describing the practice as "an outrageous example of political interference in policing", he called on Mr Boutcher to investigate the claims.
Trevor Clarke, a DUP member of the Assembly and the Northern Ireland Policing Board, backed that call during a discussion on the issue on BBC Radio Ulster, claiming the practice had been taking place for many years.
Fellow Policing Board member Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin rubbished the claim.
"Sinn Féin does not instruct or direct police officers. Nobody has the authority to tell police officers what to do other than their superior officers," he said in a statement.
The Chief Constable responded at the monthly meeting of the Policing Board yesterday.
"At no stage has Sinn Féin, or for that matter any other political party, raised any issues with me or anyone in the Service Executive Team about police officers carrying their police-issue Personal Protection Weapons at public meetings," he said.
"If they did ask, they would be told very clearly that this is an operational police matter and that the safety and security of my officers is non-negotiable.
"I have personally spoken to the District Commanders in the publicly mentioned areas of West Belfast and Derry City and Strabane, as well as to the Police Federation, and no one has reported any instances of this occurring.
"I want to reiterate my position, and that of the Senior Team, that sadly the carriage of personal protection weapons remains a necessary reality of policing in Northern Ireland.
"There is no direction in place that officers should agree to demands not to carry them at public meetings, and if such a request came forward, officers would have my full support in politely saying no to that request.
"However, I would also stress that discussing any matter relating to the protection of officers including the carriage of their personal protective weapons in a public arena is unhelpful. Issues of such a sensitive security nature should be dealt with privately and directly with me."
The Police Federation for Northern Ireland has also said it is not aware of such a practice, which it said would put PSNI officers at risk.
"There are no circumstances where police officers should disarm themselves on instruction of a political party or its representatives," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"This can only be classed as political interference and a clear attempt to dictate to the PSNI. It must be emphatically and unequivocally resisted. Complying with such instructions places officers at an unacceptable risk.
"The Chief Constable must immediately issue an instruction to officers that under no circumstances are they to feel pressurised to comply with such orders from any political party or its representatives."
