PSNI trainees have been offered guns in response to an increased paramilitary threat.
An assessment of the rising threat was given by the PSNI deputy chief constable, Mr Colin Cramphorn, to the chairman of the Policing Board last month.
The move follows the bombing by republican dissidents of the police training college in east Belfast last April and two incidents involving Catholic recruits in Ballymena, Co Antrim and Newry, Co Down. Sinn Féin has condemned the threats against recruits.
In his letter, Mr Cramphorn upgraded the perceived level of threat against its trainees and said that new officers would be offered personal protection weapons in response.
"While I appreciate this is not in the spirit of 'Patten' it is entirely necessary due to the present security environment," he said.
Mr Alex Attwood, the SDLP chairman and a member of the Policing Board, said 39 trainees had expressed personal safety worries. "This is the minimum we should be doing and the minimum that people in Northern Ireland will recognise should be done in order to give those who brave the opportunity to do what they want to do, namely police our society," he said.
He was supported by Mr Tom Kelly, an independent member of the board, who encouraged more Catholics to join the PSNI despite the increased paramilitary threat.
He said that the participation of Sinn Féin, which currently boycotts the Policing Board, would help encourage more Catholics to consider policing as a career.
There are concerns that Catholic recruitment could be badly affected by the dissident threat to members of the service.
Under the Patten recommendations, Catholic and Protestant trainees are accepted on a strict 50/50 basis to the service, which is under severe strain. A shortage of Catholic recruits could hamper efforts to build up officer numbers.
The PSNI also announced yesterday that some 1,000 civilian staff are to be recruited. The drive is almost certainly linked to efforts to free up desk-bound officers for street patrols and other police work.