Bermuda’s burgeoning crime rate is having a knock-on effect on Supreme Court, where trials are now being double-listed to avoid a lengthy backlog.The latest statistics from the Police, released in October, show gun crime is at an all-time high, with serious assaults also on the rise.Although the Police have managed to charge people in many cases, that means more and more jury trials are having to be listed.Yesterday, Chief Justice Richard Ground briefed lawyers on a new system to prevent a backlog.He explained during the monthly arraignment session that some trials will be given an early “warned” date, to get underway if the main case of the day falls through.In case it doesn’t, a second, “fixed” trial date will also be listed. The procedure is designed to make the best use of court time, since sometimes they stand empty if someone pleads guilty on the first day of their trial.Mr Justice Ground told lawyers: “So everyone understands, the number of cases coming to the list is so great and the length of those cases so considerable, we’re going to have to revert to warning cases.”After the hearing, he told The Royal Gazette: “In theory the system has always been in place, and it was reinforced by Practice Directions in 2004 and 2006. It is just that in the last few years we have rarely had need to implement it because we had eliminated the backlog, and waiting times for trial dates were short.“In particular, we were keeping the number of pending trials at around 20, with the disposals in any given month equaling or exceeding the number of new ones. Nor could we prune waiting times much further, given the needs of the prosecution and defence to prepare their cases for trial.“However, as I said today, both the number and seriousness of cases is creeping up nine new indictments at arraignments today, two of which are for premeditated murder.”The new cases, he said, bring the total number of trials pending to 30.“That number is still manageable, and even most of today’s new cases have been listed during the next three to four months, but it does sound a warning bell,” he said.“I want to take pre-emptive steps to nip in the bud any growth in the number of pending trials, and to maximise the use of court and judicial time. Hence the resurrection of the need for ‘warned’ cases.”The Supreme Court’s aim is to try all new cases within three months, according to its website. However, two of yesterday’s new matters were listed for trials in June and July.