Quick take:
- The virtual platform will allow registered users to tour the Interpol headquarters in Lyon France.
- Users will also be able to interact with other officers in 3D avatars and take immersive training sessions.
- The Interpol metaverse is hosted on the INTERPOL Secure Cloud to ensure neutrality.
INTERPOL has jumped on the metaverse train with a global police metaverse. The global law enforcement organisation metaverse platform is hosted on the INTERPOL Secure Cloud to ensure neutrality.
Lyon, France-based police force announced its foray into the metaverse during a surprise session at the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly in New Delhi, India.
The now fully operational platform allows registered users to tour a virtual replica of the INTERPOL General Secretariat, regardless of location.
Users will be able to interact with other officers in 3D avatars and take immersive training courses in forensic investigation and other policing tasks.
The organisers demonstrated the operational capabilities of the global police metaverse platform by allowing General Assembly delegates to digitally enter the Lyon building through avatars, using VR headsets.
“The Metaverse has the potential to transform every aspect of our daily lives with enormous implications for law enforcement,” said Madan Oberoi, INTERPOL’s Executive Director of Technology and Innovation.
According to Oberoi, the virtual reality experience will help global police enforcement agents to understand the metaverse better.
The organisation also announced the construction of an Expert Group on the Metaverse to address the concerns of law enforcement to facilitate the creation of a secure metaverse.
The metaverse is generally described as a 3D virtual space where people can interact immersively through gaming, virtual events and other experiential activities.
Since it became a trendy buzzword, the metaverse has been promoted under the banner of virtual gaming experiences.
INTERPOL thinks it is more than just an industry for gamers. In a report published earlier this year by Gartner, a quarter of the world population is expected to spend at least an hour in the metaverse working, studying, shopping and socializing.
INTERPOL is trying to address a recent spike in international crime, which seems to have moved online, as criminals ready themselves to exploit the metaverse.
Some of the offences that the organisation wants to prevent include “crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, counterfeiting, ransomware, phishing, and sexual assault and harassment,” INTERPOL wrote on a blog on its website.
“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,” Mr Oberoi said. “Only by having these conversations now can we build an effective response.”
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