When masked intruders used diggers to target a cash machine outside businessman Declan McCabe’s Newtownbutler shop in July horrified residents looked on helplessly.

Several phoned the police asking for emergency assistance. Twelve hours later the gang had long gone but Declan and the residents were still waiting for police to arrive.

Last month the small border village of Clady was brought to a standstill simply because a van had been abandoned on a bridge. Almost a day after the suspect vehicle had been spotted and with a claim that a 600lb bomb was on board, the security alert was still ongoing.

During The Troubles in Northern Ireland there was often talk of ‘no-go’ areas for police.

The PSNI ardently insist that there are no no-go areas in Northern Ireland anymore but, as Newtownbutler and Clady have demonstrated, the rising dissident threat means they have been replaced by “go-slow areas”.

Police did eventually respond in both cases but the threat of being lured into a trap by dissidents meant they could not provide the rapid community-based response that is part of Matt Baggott’s vision for the future of the PSNI.

The upsurge in dissident activity, particularly in border counties, is presenting a serious challenge to the delivery of effective policing in many towns and villages with officers working in the shadow of a evolving threat of terrorist attack.

While it is not stopping policing the terrorist threat is certainly impacting directly on the style, pace and delivery of the day to day service that the public expects and wants. Some border areas can now only be reached by air for officers, an uncomfortable reminder of past times. Mobile police stations, a vision of the future and a replacement for old heavily fortified stations, cannot travel to some of the parts of the community where they are most needed.

Most worryingly of all is that a number of murder bids on members of the security forces by luring them into an area has forced the PSNI to scale back on routine patrols in some areas and adopt a more cautious approach when responding to calls.

Matt Baggott’s vision of community policing must never have seemed more distant to members of these communities.

However, the Chief Constable insists that all areas across Northern Ireland will receive the same level and quality of neighbourhood policing despite the security situation and all the evidence suggests the threat from dissident republicans is getting worse.

Just last week they planted a 500lb bomb outside Policing Board headquarters in Belfast and attempted to shoot dead a young Catholic police recruit.

Last month a mortar bomb with a command wire, similar to that used by the IRA during the Troubles, was discovered in Armagh. If it had not been discovered it would likely have been used by dissidents to target a police patrol.

In late August in Armagh an RIRA improvised explosive device was found at a school and it is believed the intention was to maim those who tried to defuse it. Three days later there was an armed robbery in Forkhill apparently designed to lure the police into the area. Some days later an explosive device containing 460lbs of home-made explosive was found where the arriving officers were likely to have passed.

The intensification of these attacks has led to challenges in the policing of areas like Roslea, Lisnaskea, Newtownbutler and Donagh in Fermanagh and Forkhill, Crossmaglen, Cullyhanna and Meigh in Armagh due to the likelihood of attack if police venture into these areas.

It also means that officers are finding it increasingly challenging to deal with roots and grass policing that communities want tackled such as anti-social behaviour, robberies, burglaries and petty crime.

“If they are not no-go areas then there are certainly go-slow areas. Police are very vulnerable to attack in these areas,” UUP MLA Danny Kennedy said.

“First of all the police resources are not there to deal with issues and then you have the understandable cautious police response in areas. All this is impacting on response times and public confidence. All of this makes neighbourhood and community policing very difficult to achieve.”

Paul Robinson, a DUP councillor, said: “It is a very difficult area to police and it is a difficult situation for them to solve.

“I do not know what they are going to do.

“The mobile police station hasn’t been in Newtownbutler or Roslea for quite some time. Police are in Roslea for five minutes and then are straight back out again. That is not policing and I cannot see it improving. They are trying their best but the threat is there and it is a very concerning situation.”

Terry Spence, chairman of the Police Federation, said there are areas, particularly along border areas where officers are at a greater risk and need additional support.