Tampa company shows some ankle on CSI: Miami premier

The Tampa Bay area may not be sexy enough to backdrop a television series like CSI: Miami, but at least one local company got some 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 also 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, a 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 prettier, graphically speaking – it contained a color photo of the teenager plus, various graphs and charts -- than a real one would.

-- Scott Barancik, Times Staff Writer