The M.O: Waterfront homes are entered during the night while the occupants are asleep upstairs.

Small items including purses are stolen, often discarded outside after cash is removed.

The scenario played out three times this week, in burglaries in the Pleasant Beach and Crystal Springs neighborhoods.

“It’s a very bold and brazen type of crime – not your typical burglary at all,” Bainbridge Police Detective Scott Anderson said. “Most burglars do not take the risk that a home is occupied.”

In one of the incidents, a Pleasant Beach resident heard a noise downstairs at 1 a.m., but believed it was his teenage son.

When he got up half an hour later to check the house, he found that someone had entered through a water-side door that had been left unlocked.

Missing were a briefcase, purse and camera; the purse was later found tossed on a neighbor’s property, minus cash.

A second home on that street – again unlocked – also was entered while the owner was in bed.

That victim was preparing to travel and had considerable currency in her purse, all of which was taken. The theft was discovered the next morning.

The third burglary was reported on Crystal Springs, again with a purse emptied and discarded.

Pleasant Beach residents reported hearing no vehicles in the area.

But the suspects are believed to have tried at least one other home there – a resident said she heard someone turning the knob, but failed to summon authorities.

“I think that one was only reported to us because word got around the neighborhood,” said Anderson, who implored residents to call 911 if they see or hear anything suspicious near their homes.

The burglaries are virtually identical to several incidents on Rockaway Beach over the summer.

No arrests were made in connection with those thefts, and police said the same suspects could be at work.

“I would say it’s a strong suspicion,” Anderson said.