On October 20, at the 90th Annual INTERPOL General Assembly in New Delhi, India, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) unveiled the first ever fully interactive metaverse environment. The first-ever metaverse of its kind was reportedly developed to support members of its law enforcement organization across 194 countries.
The metaverse is already live and available to members of INTERPOL. Active INTERPOL law enforcement is able to log in to the metaverse with their unique identification and access a host of tools and resources uploaded and stored into the fully interactive VR environment. Details of the activities and tools that are made available to INTERPOL officers were disclosed in an INTERPOL announcement about the newly launched metaverse.
Details Into The New INTERPOL Metaverse
Delegates were surprised with the opportunity to engage in the live implementation of the new metaverse for police at the recent assembly. During the interactive session, General Assembly delegates registered and then digitally accessed the General Secretariat building in Lyon, France, the specific building integrated into the digital world. The delegates were able to do so using VR headsets and controllers.
Registered users will have the ability to interact through avatars in the virtual metaverse world, as well as share information, files, and even take training courses according to details in the official announcement. INTERPOL also announced the formation of an Expert Group on the metaverse, which will reportedly represent law enforcement concerns on a global platform.
The Reason To Construct The INTERPOL Metaverse
When asked about the driving reason behind the release of the new metaverse, INTERPOL Secretary General, Jürgen Stock articulated around reasons mostly founded around the organization identifying a need to monitor growing instances of crime in the digital space. INTERPOL’s Secretary General stated the existing commitment to protect citizens of the world from the threat of international crime remains the same in a world which is changing. That, therefore, reflects the need for the organization to adapt to the changes of the world in order to adequately police.
For many, the Metaverse seems to herald an abstract future, but the issues it raises are those that have always motivated INTERPOL – supporting our member countries to fight crime and making the world, virtual or not, safer for those who inhabit it.
Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General
New Crime Requires New Law Enforcement Tactics
In a cryptocurrency market that has been riddled with news about security breaches, network hacks, questions of financial negligence and blatant financial crimes, the release of the INTERPOL metaverse comes at what could be considered to be an opportune time.
Probably not very many would have predicted INTERPOL being the topic of the latest metaverse news. But as the face, location and style of crime turn more to the digital space, the information disclosed in the announcement suggests INTERPOL wanted to ensure their part in forming its governance.
The General Assembly named crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, counterfeiting, ransomware, phishing, and sexual assault and harassment in its report, as crimes which could become more prominent in the rising digital age. Benefits the metaverse is said to offer law enforcement named in the announcement were remote work, networking, collecting and preserving evidence, and interactive training, to meet the transitioning shape of crime.
By identifying these risks from the outset, we can work with stakeholders to shape the necessary governance frameworks and cut off future criminal markets before they are fully formed. Only by having these conversations now can we build an effective response.
Madan Oberoi, Executive Director of Technology and Innovation, INTERPOL
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