A new branch of police carrying rifles began patrolling Sydney’s streets on Sunday.

The Armed Response Command (ARC) will deploy up to 250 officers by 2027 and they will operate on a 24/7 basis in a direct response to the deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in December.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Police to patrol with rifles around Sydney.

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“Their presence is being felt in the CBD and indeed into the suburbs of metropolitan Sydney,” NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley said at a press conference on Sunday.

ARC officers deployed at 6am patrolled Liverpool, Parramatta, the Eastern Suburbs and Sydney CBD.

“This is a $94.3 million investment by the Minns government,” Catley said.

“It is one of the measures on the back of the Bondi terrorist attack.

“There are several others, but this was a response that the NSW Police came to us (with), after going overseas and really getting down into the weeds of what is happening globally and finding out what other countries are doing in response to terror events.”

Armed Response Command Commander Detective Superintendent Andrew Evans and NSW Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism Yasmin Catley launched the new squad on Sunday. Credit: 7NEWS

While the ARC officers will patrol “places of mass gathering,” ARC Commander Detective Superintendent Andrew Evans said: “The types of jobs that we will deploy to are active armed offender incidents.”

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Catley called the new command “state of the art” and said the ARC officers have been highly trained and are prepared to “respond in a rapid, direct intelligence-focused way”.

Evans said the purpose-built operations centre in Surry Hills will feed intelligence through to the made-for-purpose ARC vehicles.

He described the ARC officers as “an excellent and committed bunch of officers who have been recruited from the broader NSW Police Force.”

Their ARC-specific training, which covered rifles, high-speed driving and first responder medical training, spanned six-and-a-half months, Evans said.

The ARC is set to have 250 officers by the end of next year. Credit: 7NEWS

Catley clarified that while this command is a “step up” for Sydney, existing NSW Police commands remain in operation in addition to the ARC.

Evans said the ARC has so far received plenty of community support, and one Sydney local told 7NEWS he thinks the change “makes me feel more safe, more police on the street, with more guns.”

But not everyone feels comfortable with the rifles being on show.

“It feels a bit weird. Looking at a long gun is a bit scary,” one local told 7NEWS.

“I think its probably a good initiative, if the aim is for public safety — but still, if I’m seeing that quite often it could be a bit scary.”