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