Making the Case for Magnet GRAYKEY Funding

You’ve heard us explain the importance of mobile phone data in relation to criminal investigations. You know your department needs mobile device forensic tools to help modernize how your agency conducts investigations. You are at that point where you need to convince your chief, procurement department, or even grant funding source that you NEED a GRAYKEY. Whether you are trying to convince your direct supervisor, command staff, city council, other budgetary entities, or you are completing a grant application, there are a few things to consider when making your case.  

In this blog, we will walk you through those different considerations, provide resources, and outline some best practices to help you position GRAYKEY to your decision makers so you can increase the chances of securing funding.  

First, Explain What GRAYKEY Is 

First, you have to set the stage by explaining what GRAYKEY is and even providing some examples of what it has done and can do. The entity you are requesting funds from will want to know what they are being asked to purchase. Answering questions like “What does it do?” and “What problems does it solve?” can help make your case. Here are a few resources that may help you define GRAYKEY and explain the tool’s value.  

• Magnet GRAYKEY Product Brief
• Magnet GRAYKEY Product Features
• Customer Story: Carolina Beach Police Department 

Next, Show How GRAYKEY Can Help Your Agency  

You’ll need to list and provide data to back up your claim and illustrate why your agency needs GRAYKEY and how they could benefit. What are specific problems that GRAYKEY could solve for your agency? Once you have identified those problems, you have to answer how GRAYKEY will solve those problems. To help you answer the “how” portion, we created this 10 Reasons Why You Need GRAYKEY infographic.  

You will also need to provide concrete statistics and data that demonstrate your agency’s need for GRAYKEY. Gather crime statistics specific to your jurisdiction, surrounding jurisdictions, or even areas of similar size. For example, if your agency is challenged by organized retail theft, child sexual exploitation, narcotics, gang violence or overburdened by vehicular accidents, collect your statistics surrounding those issues and discuss how access to mobile phone data could assist you in decreasing those crime types in your community. 

Think about resources you already have access to that contain this information – you can use those resources to acquire solid numbers that illustrate why you need GRAYKEY. Here is a quick list of potential resources that may help you collect this data: 

• Your agencies case management system 
• Your agencies crime analysis unit  
• Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) Data and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) (Access vis the Federal Bureau of Investigation Crime Data Explorer) 
• You can find tools, publications and data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), an office of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline Data 
• You can also reach out to your state police or other entities that collect and collate data. 

Next, gather some information and data about current mobile phone processing at your agency and surrounding agencies. And as you are doing this data research, ask yourself these questions to help explain how your agency could benefit from GRAYKEY: 

• Who is conducting digital forensic processing and analysis for your agency now? Do they have statistics or data you can leverage? 
• Did you have any cases where you needed access to mobile phone data, and you could not access it? What was the outcome?  
• Can you specifically point to an instance where GRAYKEY would have allowed you to access the data you needed? If you had access to that data, how would the outcome have changed? If you have those stories, tell them!  

Now, Strengthen Your Argument/Case 

After you have the current data, look at it from several perspectives. Analyze the data and ask yourself questions that can help bolster your case. Check out some of these example questions to help build your case: 

• How many mobile phones are you seizing when conducting investigations? 
• Does your agency seize and consider mobile phone evidence when investigating all types of crimes? Are investigators only seizing mobile phones when investigating major crimes, priority cases, or cases of significance? 
• Does your agency consider witness, victim, and suspects devices as mobile phone evidence? 
• Do you send your mobile phones to be processed by another agency? What is the time involved in transporting that evidence? Are there challenges associated with chain of custody? How long are you waiting for them to process those devices? 
• How long is it taking you to get critical information so you can move forward with your investigation? 

Finally, Compare GRAYKEY Against Other Options 

You decision makers or funding source will want to know if there are other solutions that address your agency’s needs and how GRAYKEY compares to similar technology. Everyone wants to ensure they are getting the best deal for the money, if you would like to understand some competitive talking points, reach out to sales@magnetforensics.com who can help you make the case for your agency to purchase GRAYKEY.  

While the cost of acquiring tools like GRAYKEY may seem daunting, there are resources and best practices available to help position your funding request for success. Even though the information above isn’t an extensive list, we hope it provides you with some guidance to get started so your department can have access to the tools you need to keep your investigations efficient, up-to-date, and moving forward.