INTERPOL launches metaverse for law enforcement officers around the world

The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has launched its own metaverse designed specifically to train law enforcement officers around the world and promote their exchange on the virtual space.

Using their avatars, registered users can take immersive training courses in forensic investigation and other police capabilities, tour a virtual facsimile of the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, as well as interact with other officers, the global police organization said on October 20.

The INTERPOL metaverse is provided through the INTERPOL’s own secure cloud service in order to ensure its neutrality, it said. The platform was introduced to representatives attending the recent INTERPOL general assembly held in New Delhi. During an interactive session, the delegates were able to enter the Lyon headquarters through avatars, using VR headsets.

“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,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

“We may be entering a new world, but our commitment remains the same,” Stock added.

During a follow-up panel discussion, the organization announced the creation of an Expert Group on the metaverse to represent the concerns of global law enforcement over how to ensure the new virtual world is secure.

In its first Global Crime Trend report, INTERPOL said that as the pace of digitalization has increased, crime has increasingly moved online, posing significant challenges to law enforcement.