• Charles Sturt University-led research identifies the major challenges and prospective solutions in metaverse policing
• Despite the growth of the metaverse, the existing scholarship on metaverse policing has been limited, disconnected and disorganised
• The research reveals an urgent need for further comprehensive research and the development of evidence-based policies to create a secure and well-regulated metaverse environment

Charles Sturt University-led research highlights the urgent need to address concerns around legislative frameworks, the complexities of avatar governance, limited metaverse understanding and policing capacities and security-privacy dilemmas.

Dr Milind Tiwari (pictured top, inset), Senior Lecturer in Financial Crime Studies in the Charles Sturt Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security (AGSPS), led the study with co-researchers Dr Jamie Ferrill (AGSPS), Dr Andrew Childs (Griffith University), Associate Professor Lennon YC Chang (Deakin University) and PhD candidate Mr You Zhou (Monash University).

They systematically reviewed 32 selected studies (applying PRISMA 2020 guidelines) to establish a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and recommendations of metaverse policing.

“The metaverse is an immersive, interoperable and decentralised 3D online environment that contributes to the emergence of various ‘metacrimes’, presenting unique challenges for metaverse policing,” Dr Tiwari said.

He notes that the concept of the ‘metaverse’ is still so new that many people do not understand what ‘metaverse’ means, nor its implications for the future of humanity, thus creating increasingly vulnerable populations.

“The metaverse refers to a persistent, immersive, decentralised 3D online environment where users, represented by avatars, can engage socially and economically,” Dr Tiwari said.

“Metaverse comprises two words; ‘meta’, which means beyond, and ‘verse’, which implies universe, thus collectively referred to as ‘the universe beyond the physical or real world’ – a technology redefining interaction to facilitate living in a virtual world using virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) devices.”

The research, Metaverse Policing: A Systematic Literature Review of Challenges and Recommendations is published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour (Elsevier, January 2025). It identifies five salient challenges:

• lack of legislative and regulatory frameworks
• avatar accountability and anonymity issues
• limited metaverse understanding and inadequate policing capabilities
• difficulties in evidence handling, and
• privacy concerns, and ethical challenges.

It also identifies four plausible recommendations:

• establishing clarity avatar governance
• effectively managing privacy and security issues
• improving investigative methodologies, and
• defining accounting and taxation protocols.

Dr Tiwari said by providing a systematic analysis of metaverse challenges and recommendations, the study’s findings highlight critical issues.

“The anticipated risks vary in their perceived harm, frequency, ease of commission and difficulty of prevention,” he said.

“The study contributes to actionable insights for law enforcement agencies, identifying the roles and responsibilities of those who might address these challenges, emphasising the need for enhanced legal clarity, privacy handling, law enforcement training and financial protocols.

“It also highlights areas for future research, including the need for legal frameworks, enhanced policing capabilities and further empirical work to evaluate proposed solutions.”

Dr Tiwari said the findings underscore the imperative need for tailored and forward-thinking regulatory responses to address the intricate challenges of metacrime, thereby ensuring the security and integrity of evolving digital environments.

“Further research is required to develop effective policies and practices to ensure a secure and well-regulated metaverse environment that is capable of mitigating the risks of metacrime,” he said.

To study more about the metaverse and metacrime, consider the AGSPS’s postgraduate courses (graduate certificates, graduate diplomas and master’s degrees) in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing, and Fraud and Financial Crime.