The spectre of paramilitary activity still hangs over this society and new figures confirm that the last year has seen a worrying increase in bombings and shootings.
Figures compiled by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency reveal there were seven bombing incidents recorded in the year up to the end of June.
This compared to just four during the previous 12 months, according to police records.
There was also a rise in the number of shootings, from 26 up to 32.
Many took place in Belfast but in Ards and North Down – scene of an ongoing feud between drugs gangs with loyalist links – the figure increased from two to eight this year.
Meanwhile, there were 28 victims of brutal paramilitary-style assaults across the north, down from 36 during the previous 12 months.
There were also 11 paramilitary-style shootings, representing no change on the previous year.
None of these figures are comparable to the worst years of the Troubles and the enormous political progress that has transformed the security situation should never be taken for granted.
However, a quarter of a century on from the Good Friday Agreement, it is hugely frustrating that paramilitaries are still able to exert malign control in many communities.
Small numbers of dissident republicans are still targeting members of the security forces, most recently with the callous attack which saw Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell shot several times in front of his young son following a youth coaching session at a sports complex outside Omagh.
Thankfully the senior officer has since been able to leave hospital and no-one else was injured in the despicable attack. A total of 13 people have also appeared in court in connection with the shooting and subsequent claim of responsibility by the New IRA.
Loyalist groups, meanwhile, continue to engage in drug-dealing, intimidation and other serious criminality, despite millions in scarce public funds being directed to 'transition' schemes.
The feud involving factions previously associated with the UDA in North Down has been a particular drain on PSNI resources, costing around half a million pounds at a recent count.
Paramilitaries of all hues remain a cancer on our society, a grim legacy of a troubled past that prevents people moving forward together and enjoying the full benefits of peace.
It is long past time that all those engaged in violence and criminality were put behind bars and their malevolent influence on communities brought to an end.
