Classic and Modern PHS Versions
About the Versions
POBITS includes two PHS variants: Classic and Modern. The Classic version is what was originally built into POBITS and continues to be perfectly usable for most organizations. It was developed based on the California Peace Officer Standards and Training guidelines and investigation manual. The Modern version was developed because as organizations have matured, they have placed stricter standards on the specific questions to be asked. The Modern version responds to those needs and allows the organization to modify the entire bank of questions to suit their needs and is based on the State of Oregon model as of 2023. Also, in the Modern version the bank of questions is built into the questionnaire itself so future modifications to the questions by the organization have no effect on previously submitted questionnaires. A plain text version of the State of Oregon questionnaire is attached and the Modern PHS includes these questions verbatim as the default questions, which as stated, can be modified to meet your organization's specific needs. Before using the Modern version, we highly recommend your organization review and modify all questions for their suitability.
Using the Versions
The selection of the PHS version is made in the description of the Position applied to the case. When creating or modifying a position, you select which version of the PHS is applicable and then select the position relevant to the case when creating the case. Note the following:
- If the position selected for the case has no PHS version identified (such as when you select an existing position where this attribute was never chosen), the Classic model will be assumed.
- Selecting a different position after the case has been created will not change the PHS version because this would be confusing to the candidate. If you need change the PHS model, you will have to delete the case and recreate it with the appropriate position selected.
- On the Investigator's dashboard and other lists of Cases, the Version will appear as blank for cases where this option was never selected but this infers the Classic version is in use.
- In the Classic PHS version, individual investigative areas can be selected or deselected, in the Modern version, all investigative areas are applicable, but we will look at this option in a future release.
Unless you have a particular reason for using the Classic PHS version, we recommend you adopt the Modern version for all positions because it is more streamlined and configurable and provides better usability for the candidate and the investigator.
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