How DVZ is Building Belgium's Detention Management Platform of Tomorrow

01 - CHALLENGE

Outdated Legacy Systems Holding Back Efficient Detention Management

Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken (DVZ) in Dutch/Flemish, known as the Immigration Office (IO) in English, part of the Federal Public Service Home Affairs, manages Belgium’s migration flows, making decisions on territorial access, residence, (re)settlement and removal. In order to conduct removal procedures, the DVZ operates detention centres, where foreign nationals on illegal stay are detained to ensure their return. During the resident’s stay, the detention centres provide medical and psychological support and return counseling.

DVZ operates six detention centres across Belgium, managing approximately 650 places and processing around 5,000 new residents annually.

Beyond these centres, DVZ oversees specialised family units across five locations, comprising 29 houses and apartments with a capacity for about 200 people, serving around 160 families per year. DVZ faced a challenge working in a slow and outdated system to maintain detailed documentation of every resident's stay, while complying with strict regulatory requirements.

The organisation identified three priority challenges:

- Outdated technology: The primary application, GCF, does no longer meet modern standards regarding technology and user experience. With a code freeze in place, the system could no longer evolve to meet new requirements.  "We had an outdated system that had to be replaced as soon as possible," explains Geert De Vulder, head of the Detention Centre Department at DVZ. "The system was too slow and not user-friendly at all."

- Shadow IT proliferation: Limited functionality forced staff to create workarounds using SharePoint and paper-based systems. This shadow IT proliferation led to fragmented data, adding an administrative burden.

- Limited digital integration: Staff must manually transfer information between multiple disconnected systems, increasing the risk of errors and requiring intense internal communication to maintain a complete overview of resident cases. This is particularly important since the nationwide detention centres collaborate closely with different units at the DVZ headquarters.

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02 - SOLUTION

Creating a Unified Platform for Detention Centre Management

The DVZ team launched a tender and contracted In The Pocket because they needed a partner to help them develop a new, modern web application from scratch that would not only replace the old system but expand its capabilities to include family units, which weren't part of the previous system. The family units are individual accommodations within an open community where families are accompanied during their return procedure. The new platform should focus on user-friendliness, reliability, and logical workflows, with the potential for future integration with other systems.

The solution is part of the new RECAMAS (Return Case Management System) project, Frontex's strategic initiative to digitise the entire return case management process in accordance with the EU reference model. "We had some high-level requirements, but we wanted to give the supplier the opportunity to come up with how to approach it. We wanted to leave some room for improvements and suggestions, and get inspiration from a different perspective," shares De Vulder.

Within this program, we're focusing on modernising detention centre operations through three key pillars:

1. UNIFIED DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

Rather than maintaining multiple disconnected systems, we're creating a single platform that brings together all core processes for all departments involved. This reduces shadow IT while giving staff the modern and intuitive tools they need to work efficiently.

2. FUTURE-READY FOUNDATION

As part of RECAMAS, we're building more than just a replacement for GCF. We're creating a scalable platform that can grow with DVZs needs, supporting current operations plans while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to user needs and regulatory changes.

3. INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM

Through integration with other RECAMAS products, we ensure consistent data management across the entire return case management process. This means every improvement not only modernises detention centre operations but also strengthens DVZs broader digital ecosystem.

03 - APPROACH

Combining Operational Expertise with Digital Innovation to Create Lasting Change

Our approach focuses on close collaboration with the detention centre staff, recognising that they are the true experts and know best what they need. Through regular field visits and continuous feedback loops, we ensure each feature directly addresses real operational challenges. “What stood out was that it was mainly a team effort. Every time a new feature started, the feedback and input from the staff was always taken into account to ensure the end result was addressing their needs. Whether it's on a design level or frontend or database level," says De Vulder.

This collaborative process extends beyond just gathering requirements. We maintain parallel tracks of discovery and delivery. This allows us to continuously research and validate upcoming features while releasing production-ready increments. Each feature undergoes user validation before implementation, ensuring that when new flows are released, they are intuitive to use and are not in need of a user manual.

This validation process includes everything from initial wireframes to final user acceptance testing, with staff from different roles and centres providing input at each stage.
By making sure that each centre is included in this validation we balance the differences between the centres and the need for a harmonised way of working.

04 - OUTCOME

Modernising Belgium's Detention Management System

While the project is still in its early stages, initial user feedback has been positive. The system currently serves almost 300 users, with expectations to reach around 1,000 users when fully deployed. "The first user acceptance testing went really well, and the reactions are really positive. One of the main takeaways is that it actually corresponds with what they are doing in practice. So, to our users, it felt really natural. Even though we had to make some changes in how they work and reinforced digitalisation of some parts, the product team found a way to make it as easy as possible to use," says De Vulder.

This initiative represents a new approach to government digital services. As De Vulder reflects: "In The Pocket's perspective is completely different from ours. We have our laws and a lot of administrative procedures to follow. But from time to time, it can help to have someone with an open mind and who's new to the situation, who has a certain distance, at least at the very beginning, to have a fresh look at it.

"The transformation is already visible in daily operations across Belgium's detention centres and family units. Our ongoing collaboration with detention centre staff ensures the platform evolves alongside their needs. By centralising data collection and standardising processes across centres, we've created a foundation for better reporting and decision-making, giving real-time insights into centre operations while maintaining regulatory compliance.

The new system represents a significant step forward in Belgium's immigration infrastructure modernisation, with continuous improvements and expansions planned for the future.