Crime
Summary
The ad states: "Labour's mates want to stop violent under 25's being tried as adults," under the heading "Soft on Crime." A viewer would understand this as claiming that a political group associated with Labour wants violent offenders aged under 25 moved out of the adult court system. The Opportunity Party previously proposed raising Youth Court jurisdiction to age 25, but its current policy no longer specifies 25, and the earlier proposal did not say that all violent offenders under 25 would necessarily avoid adult court.
The Opportunity Party previously proposed extending Youth Court jurisdiction to age 25, but it has since removed that specific age from its policy. The proposal also did not establish that all violent offenders under 25 would be kept out of adult courts, making the ad's wording broader than the available evidence supports.
Score Breakdown
Factual accuracy
Weight: 40%
Context fairness
Weight: 30%
Evidence quality
Weight: 20%
Visual/audio fairness
Weight: 10%
What the ad gets right
- +The Opportunity Party previously published a policy explicitly proposing to "raise the age of the youth court jurisdiction to 25." ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
- +Moving Youth Court jurisdiction upward could mean some 18-to-24-year-old defendants who are currently dealt with in adult courts would instead be dealt with through the youth justice system. ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
- +The Opportunity Party's current policy still proposes raising the age of Youth Court jurisdiction, although it no longer gives a specific age. ([Opportunity Party][2])
What the ad gets wrong or leaves out
- −The Opportunity Party removed the specific age of 25 from its published policy before this ad appeared. Its current policy simply says it would raise the Youth Court age, without specifying how far. ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
- −The earlier age-25 proposal did not state whether violent or other serious offences would be included. Reporting on the archived policy notes that it did not explain whether serious and violent offences would be excluded. ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
- −Being dealt with through the Youth Court is not the same as escaping prosecution or accountability. The youth justice system can prosecute offenders and expressly considers public safety, victims' interests and offender accountability. ([Youth Court of New Zealand][3])
- −Under the existing Youth Court system, some serious offences are excluded or can move into adult jurisdiction, illustrating why the ad's categorical wording about violent offenders is too broad. ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
- −The phrase "Labour's mates" is political characterisation rather than a defined factual relationship. The ad itself does not identify who it means or establish that Labour supports the policy.
- −The "Soft on Crime" label is a political judgement rather than a directly verifiable factual claim.
Detailed Verdict
There is a factual basis behind the ad: the Opportunity Party previously proposed extending Youth Court jurisdiction to age 25. But the ad turns that into the stronger claim that violent offenders under 25 would not be tried as adults, despite the policy not specifying how violent offences would be treated and the current version no longer specifying age 25. ([Chris Lynch Media][1])
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