For Investigators
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 ...
Using the POBITS Data Analyzer
The POBITS Data Analyzer is an Excel workbook containing several worksheets. The Case Summaries Data worksheet contains the data downloaded from your POBITS account. All other worksheets include one or more pivot tables and charts based on the Case ...
Relevant Law Enforcement Agencies
Relevant Law Enforcement Agencies are provided to rapidly identify law enforcement agencies in relevant proximity to a candidate's former residences or colleges attended. This item is accessible from the investigation areas menu on the case main ...
Managing Supplemental Forms
You can create as many supplemental forms as you need. Presumably, you will at least create one for your consent release authorization form. For each form, prepare your document and create a new Supplemental Form item. Fill in all of the entries and ...
Candidate Status
Candidates can have the following status: Preliminary Active Inactive Hired Withdrew Disqualified Permanent Disqualification Candidates do not necessarily progress through all statuses. However, all candidates begin as Preliminary. When an ...
Managing External Users
About External Users An external user is a person to whom you provide system access and access to one or more candidates. Users in the role of Manager can add, update, and delete external users for your account. Typical use cases are: Another law ...
Preliminary Questionnaire
The Preliminary Questionnaire option is currently only available when using the Modern version of the PHS. When the Preliminary Questionnaire attribute is checked, The PHS only display and validates Yes/No questions and does not display ancillary ...
Candidate Status
Candidates can have the following status: Preliminary Active Inactive Hired Withdrew Disqualified Permanent Disqualification Candidates do not necessarily progress through all statuses. However, all candidates begin as Preliminary. When an ...
Importing Candidates
You can import candidates in bulk from a comma separated values (csv) formatted spreadsheet. Each column must have a header that correctly identifies it using the database's own terms. A list of valid column headers is provided at the end of this ...
Investigator Record Access
Investigators assigned to the Role of "Investigator" vs. "Manager" by default have a limited view of candidates and their cases. For each investigator, you can expand his/her access as you determine best for your organization and the individual ...
Custom Investigative Areas per Case
You can customize which investigative areas are applicable to each case. The best way to do this, especially on an automated basis, is to set the applicable investigative areas per Position, then apply the position as desired. For example, you may ...
Getting Statistics and Making Reports and Graphs
When you need to analyse your POBITS data for any reason, the best method is to export the Case Summaries file and open in MS Excel. The file is configured so that you can easily acquire all sorts of statistics. However, you need to know a little bit ...
Candidate Status
Candidates can have the following status: Preliminary Active Inactive Hired Withdrew Disqualified Permanent Disqualification Candidates do not necessarily progress through all statuses. However, all candidates begin as Preliminary. When an ...
Investigation Reports
There are several Case reports in POBITS which, when printed, comprise your entire investigation. All of these should be printed (they are produced as PDF files) and stored electronically within your organization's file system. They are: Areas of ...
Personal History Statement
The Personal History Statement (PHS), sometimes called a Personal History Questionnaire (PHQ), probes a number of different areas of your personal history. This help topic focuses on how the forms work and does not refer to any specific question or ...
Full Background Investigation Report
The Full Background Investigation Report is available from the Reports drop list at the top-right corner of the case launch window. This report encompasses all information in the case and is designed to serve as the official case record. When the ...
Official Records
The data entered into POBITS is perpetual but there are reasons why it should not be relied on as an official record. For one, the content may change. If we add or change questions or sections or any other aspect of the questionnaire, future reports ...
Deleting Candidates
You can delete a candidate but we make it difficult. First, only users in the Manager role can delete. To delete a candidate, go to the Organization Setup menu from the pull-out sidebar. Select the Investigators tab, then open the Investigator to ...
Narrative Templates
Narrative template help the investigator to rapidly assemble standard narratives for each investigative area. The best use of templates, is to construct an outline of topic areas and a standard content flow. This will make your narratives more ...
Case Stages
Cases can have the following stages. Note that all stages are set automatically as described below, but the investigator can set the stage manually at will. Case Opened - the case is automatically set to this stage when it is created. Candidate ...
Reviews
Before you can set up a review, you must add Review Steps in the Organization Setup screen. This function is only available to users in the role of Manager. For each case, you can add any number of reviews. A review is a single event wherein the ...
Transcript Requests
If you are applying to the US Capitol Police, have your transcripts sent to this address: The instructions for providing transcripts is set per each departing using POBITS. On each school or college form there are instructions at the top of the form. ...
Form Letters
You can create a form letter for any purpose you may have. The letter can include tags that are replaced with data fields from the chosen record (Candidate or PHS). This is similar to MS Word's mail merge functionality. The basic steps are as ...
Tag References
The following tags are available for insertion into form letter templates. The tags must be entered exactly as they appear below, in double angles, and same case. Candidate Context: Last name: <<Candidate.LastName>> First name: ...
Reference Questionnaire
As a reference to the candidate, you may be a relative, a personal/professional friend or acquaintance, a previous or current employer, a previous or current landlord, or a law enforcement agency to which this candidate has applied. You questionnaire ...
Archiving a Case
If you are a Manager, you can archive a case. When a case is archived, the system produces a full background investigation report just like the one you produce from the case report menu. The resulting PDF file is attached to the candidate on a tab ...
Document Attachments
The investigator can add documents to the case in PDF format, each limited to 5 MB in size. If your PDF exceeds the size limit, there are ways to shrink the file including online tools dedicated to this function. Adding the file is a straight-forward ...
Inviting References
There are 10 types of references in POBITS. In the Relatives Investigative Area: Parents Spouses Siblings Children In the References Investigative Area: Personal References Secondary References In the Employment Investigative Area: Employers Other ...
Setting User Credentials
Investigators can change their default login credentials by selecting the item labeled "Change System Credentials" from the left panel menu. The login name must be at least 8 characters long and cannot contain any spaces.
Housemates
For each prior residence, the candidate is asked to provide the names of roommate or housemates at the residence. We do not assume the candidate will have contact information on these individuals so they are not treated as other references i.e., you ...
Case Search
The case search is a component of the Search screen, accessible from the Search button at the top of the dashboard. Begin by selecting the master criteria on the left panel. When searching some fields, such as Case Open and Case Closed, you can use ...
Using Grammarly with POBITS
We don't provide spelling or grammar check in POBITS because it's easier to use a browser extension. Grammarly is an extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers. It's easy to install and is a very useful extension for investigators using ...
Configuring Data Grids
Data grids in POBITS have many features and custom configurations. The following presentation demonstrates them.
User Roles
A Manager is an Investigator with the ability to create Managers, Investigators, or Viewers within your organization. They can view all Candidates in the system and view reports that reflect all organizational information. They can monitor the ...