When it came to securing his home, Jessie Torres wasted no expense.

He had all of this installed, including a burglar alarm, after his Aiea home was burglarized twice within six months.

"Once you get burglarized you feel violated," says Torres.

Like Torres, many folks equip their homes with surveillance cameras not only to deter thieves, but also for piece of mind.

Asa Ikeda's company, Cam Security in Kaimuki, specializes in security surveillance systems.

This is the camera here the size of a quarter. Probably our most popular camera is either a bullet camera like this or a dome camera like this, says Ikeda.

Both have infrared technology so you can spot intruders even in the dark.

And many of these cameras can now be monitored on the internet, keeping homeowners in the picture while they're away.

Ikeda says, "There's multiple usage, if you want to see what time your babysitter came, what time your pool guy came around your house."

Surveillance cameras now come in all shapes and sizes. Some are waterproof, others are vandalproof, and some move with motion.

"So say if someone came and walked into your property and area it'll follow and track that person," says Ikeda.

And sometimes ... looks can be deceiving. Believe it or not, several ordinary household items like alarm clocks and cleaning supplies can have hidden cameras.

Like plasma t-v's and digital cameras, prices for surveillance cameras have come way down over the past couple years, while quality has gone way up.

Ikeda says his average customer spends about two to three thousand dollars -- which includes several video cameras, a digital video recorder, and warning signs.

All professionally installed.

Ikeda says, "we have customers who do catch people in the act.

Customers like Jessie Torres. "Within a week after we installed it we were able to capture the burglar that came into our property and stole an electric scooter from my son," says Torres.

Torres gave a copy of the tape to police. We aired it on our newscast. Someone in the community recognized the thief, and it led to his capture.

Torres says, "we paid about $2000 and it's well well worth it for the piece of mind.

A home surveillance system... a couple thousand dollars.

Catching a burglar in the act... priceless.