SmartWater CSI: Memory drink, or crime-fighting tool?

(CBS) Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - To solve a spree of vehicle break-ins, detectives in South Florida turned to a high-tech tool: SmartWater CSI.

No, it's not a thirst-quencher that improves your memory. It's more of a crime-fighting spray.

CBS Miami reports that, faced with a series of car burglaries in a Fort Lauderdale garage, investigators parked a decoy vehicle there, outfitting it with video surveillance, an alarm, and the aforementioned SmartWater CSI.

Saturday morning around 8:40 a.m. the decoy's alarm was triggered by an apparent burglar. The alarm turned on a pump which, in turn, emitted a chemical spray throughout the inside of the rigged vehicle. According to CBS Miami, authorities say the chemical is harmless, and that it acts to stain a person's clothes and skin. It's said to work in a manner similar to DNA, in that it creates a profile unique to each individual.

After the burglary suspect fled, detectives viewed the surveillance images and identified their man as 21-year old Michael Jackson.

The station says police tracked down Jackson, and then used a black light which reportedly detected the SmartWater CSI spray on his clothes and skin. Jackson was arrested and charged with burglary.

According to the manufacturer's website, the product is described as a forensic marking tool and has been used in the United Kingdom for 15 years.