Interpol reveals plans for policing the metaverse

The secretary general of the global police agency Interpol, Jurgen Stock, stated that the organization is currently studying how to curb crime in the metaverse. Interpol has created its virtual reality (VR) space, where users can attend virtual meetings and train. 

With the ever-changing face of crime, it is more important than ever for law enforcement to stay ahead of potential threats. Jurgen Stock emphasized that authorities must go beyond traditional means and delve into new technological realms in order to maintain security in our society. He noted that criminals are staying up-to-date with these latest developments, so we need to “sufficiently respond” if we don’t want to be “running behind late.”

What are metaverse crimes?

According to Interpol’s Chief for technology and innovation, Dr Madan Oberoi,  it is not easy to define a metaverse crime. “For many metaverse crimes, it may be difficult to call them a crime or not from a physical space perspective”, he said. However, he stressed that those crimes exist, and Interpol’s biggest challenge is raising awareness. 

“Similarly, if law enforcement is interested in helping people who have been hurt in the metaverse, they need to know about the metaverse.

And that is one of our objectives – to make law enforcement personnel start using the metaverse and become aware.”

Dr Madan Oberoi, Executive for Technology and Innovation, Interpol

Regulating and investigating in the metaverse

Metaverse research organization’s co-founder and head, Nina Jane Patel, believes that transposing legal frameworks from the real world to the virtual world is essential for upholding ethical norms. She strongly asserted that illegal activities in physical spaces should be mirrored with equal punishments in digital realms as well. Or else, Patel thinks we’ll only be breeding “disconnection and miscommunication” between the two worlds.

On investigating future metaverse crimes

Mr. Stock argued that Interpol’s international presence makes it the perfect fit for tackling crimes in virtual worlds. He clearly laid out how, since cyber-crimes know no borders, having a unifying force like Interpol as part of investigations is critical to catching criminals and keeping our metaverse safe.