Old Lyme — As communities along the shoreline and across the state experience a typical summer uptick in larcenies from cars, Old Lyme is no exception, although its incidents of late have been minor in nature.

According to Sgt. John Mesham of state police Troop F in Westbrook, most of the cars that have been rifled through in the past few weeks were located in Westbrook or Old Saybrook. In the latter, police arrested three people last week after they allegedly went through several vehicles before fleeing in a stolen one and crashing it into a tree.

In Old Lyme, the past week brought three notable incidents. On Friday night, a White Sands Beach resident reported a briefcase with a laptop in it had been stolen from the resident’s unlocked sun porch. With the help of a K-9, an officer found the case a short distance away. None of its contents was missing.

On Saturday morning, another White Sands Beach resident found and turned in a makeup bag that had been taken from a car. When police returned it to its owner, again, nothing was missing.

Later that day, about 7:30 p.m., someone smashed the window of a vehicle parked at Four Mile River State Boat Launch and stole a purse from within. That case remains under investigation.

Police also received reports that cars had been entered at Point O’ Woods, but nothing was taken.

“Vehicle foraging has become pretty common, unfortunately, especially in the summer months with windows down and more population in the shoreline,” Mesham said. “We continue to encourage residents to lock their cars and keep valuables out of sight.”

As he was gathering information, Mesham said he noticed that several town officers and state troopers had patrolled throughout the White Sands Beach area and the rest of town. He noted that state police assisted Old Lyme in hiring and preparing two new officers, who are now on the job. He also said the troop has helped the town boost patrols on weekends where there’s lots of activity at Sound View Beach, for example.

“All indications are this has reduced calls for service and made the area more orderly,” Mesham said.

Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder said it sounds like police are on top of the incidents and investigating them.

She doesn’t think the incidents — which sound like “mischief” since most of the items later were recovered — represent a dramatic change, as there can be cycles when there is more of this kind of activity in communities.

She recommended that people remember to lock their car doors and refrain from keeping valuables in the car and out in the open, even though it’s a small community and people feel comfortable here.

She agreed with Mesham’s statement.

“We’ve been working very closely with state police Troop F to make sure we have the resources we need to address the increased activity of the summer,” she said.

Day Staff Writer Kimberly Drelich contributed to this report.

l.boyle@theday.com