Area company's monitor debuts on 'CSI: Miami'

The tracking and monitoring device plays a key role on the hit show.
By SCOTT BARANCIK, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2007

The Tampa Bay area may not be sexy enough to be a backdrop to a television series like CSI: Miami, but at least one local company got a dose of exposure on the crime show this week.

The fall premiere that aired Sept. 24 featured an Actsoft Inc. electronic ankle bracelet that not only keeps track of its wearer's location but alerts authorities if the wearer consumes alcohol.

On the show, teenage character Kyle Harmon got in trouble when the House Arrest Solution bracelet determined that he had been drinking and sent an alert to his parole officer's BlackBerry. Police used the bracelet's GPS function to track the kid down.

"It was a win-win," said Michaela Wright, spokeswoman for Tampa-based Actsoft. "CSI prides itself on having a realistic and forward-thinking show. Naturally, they want to have cutting-edge technology." Wright said a CSI producer contacted Actsoft after reading a newspaper article about the bracelet.

Although the Actsoft logo appeared six or seven times on screen, the company didn't have to pay a penny for the product placement, Wright added. CSI exaggerated one part of the bracelet's functionality. The alert that appeared on the parole officer's BlackBerry was more detailed - it contained a color photo of the teenager, plus various graphs and charts - than a real one would be.

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 23:09:28]