History of the Department

The Corrections Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network is a young institution, but the establishments it runs and the people it holds were there before it. The milestones below record how custody in the Network was brought under a single Department and will be extended as the Department's services come into operation.

1. Before August 2026

   Custody administered by member organisations

   Before the Department existed, persons committed to custody by the courts of the Network were held at sites operated by individual member organisations under their own rules. Capacity, regimes, visiting arrangements and the treatment of complaints differed from site to site, and there was no common standard, no shared sentence planning and no coordinated arrangement for release.

2. 10 August 2026

   Interim arrangements begin

   The five custodial sites and the court custody suite were brought under a single set of interim rules in preparation for the Department's establishment. From this date records were kept on a common basis, which allows the Department to report the activity of the transition period in its first statistical release.

3. 22 August 2026

   Interim visiting timetable published

   A common visiting timetable was introduced across the five sites. Family visits rose from 862 in the first half of the transition period to 978 in the second.

4. 10 August to 5 September 2026

   The transition period

   During the four weeks before establishment, 214 persons were received from court, 187 were released and 96 were transferred between sites. Some 1,120 staff were prepared for transfer to the Department, and the seven standards were drawn up from the more protective provisions of the interim rules.

5. 6 September 2026

   Department established

   The Corrections Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network was formally established, assuming responsibility for five custodial establishments and one court custody suite holding 1,046 persons, and for the rehabilitation, supervision and resettlement of those committed to its custody.

6. 6 September 2026

   Official website launched

   The Department launched corrections.gov.vin, carrying the register of facilities, visiting arrangements, the programmes available in custody, the seven standards, the first statistical release and the Department's press releases and statements.

7. 6 September 2026

   Register, visiting arrangements and programme dates announced

   On the day of its establishment the Department published the register of its facilities, confirmed the resumption of visits under its own rules from 12 September, and announced that education classes would begin on 14 September, workshop and horticulture placements on 21 September and offending behaviour programmes on 28 September 2026.

8. 12 to 28 September 2026

   Visits, education, work and programmes begin

   Family visits resume under the Department's rules on 12 September, classes begin in every establishment on 14 September, workshop and horticulture placements open on 21 September and offending behaviour programmes begin on 28 September.

9. October 2026

   First inspections

   The Department's inspection unit begins its first cycle with a full inspection of Northgate Custody Centre and a short inspection of the Central Exchange Court Custody Suite. Reports are published within eight weeks of each visit.

10. Forthcoming

    Independent inspectorate and quarterly reporting

    The constitution of an independent inspectorate of custody, and the Department's first full quarterly statistical report covering the quarter ending 30 September 2026, will be announced in the Newsroom.

Announcements are published in the Newsroom. For the Department's present responsibilities, see About the Department; for the activity of the transition period, see Statistics.