Interpol has unveiled a comprehensive white paper shedding light on the potential advantages of metaverse tools for law enforcement, alongside forensic considerations for crimes related to the metaverse.
The document, crafted by Interpol’s Metaverse Expert Group, delves into the diverse facets of the metaverse, exploring various ways in which it could assist law enforcement agencies globally.
Metaverse platforms hold promise as valuable resources for law enforcement training, crime scene preservation, and analysis. By harnessing the capabilities of the metaverse, agencies could enhance their frontline policing competencies through immersive training scenarios and simulations. Recreating crime scenes in virtual environments enables investigators to meticulously analyze evidence and provides judges and juries with a deeper understanding of case details.
Augmented, virtual, and extended reality tools are highlighted as essential components that could revolutionize investigations. These tools leverage spatial perception and cognition to create immersive 3D workspaces, facilitating complex knowledge challenges for investigators. Moreover, extended reality tools, exemplified by services like Chainalysis, are instrumental in cryptocurrency-related investigations, offering virtual environments to visualize transactions and token movements.
The white paper also addresses the concept of “Metacrime,” encompassing a range of offenses such as nonfungible token fraud, cyber-physical attacks, digital identity theft, and financial crimes within the metaverse. As virtual environments attract a growing user base, Interpol underscores the importance of metaverse forensics and investigations. Law enforcement agencies must adapt to accessing data from virtual reality headsets, recovering evidence from metaverse infrastructure, and collaborating with third-party service providers.
As the metaverse transcends borders and organizational boundaries, Interpol emphasizes the need for a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to combat metacrime effectively. A holistic strategy involving cross-border collaboration and multi-jurisdictional cooperation is essential for tackling the complexities of crimes within the metaverse. In essence, the integration of metaverse tools into law enforcement practices represents a pivotal step toward enhancing investigative capabilities in the digital age.
