San Diego

A purse-snatcher posing as a fire sprinkler inspector has been hitting Mission Valley offices, San Diego police say.

Police spokesman Bill Robinson said nearly a dozen secretaries have reported that their wallets or purses were lifted by a man carrying a clipboard and wearing a white hard hat with a green emblem on the side.

The thief, described as a tall, slim black man with a “scraggly” goatee, identifies himself as a water or sprinkler inspector, then apparently waits until the secretary leaves her desk unattended, Robinson said. Most of the thefts have occurred in offices along Camino Del Rio North and Camino Del Rio South, near National University, Robinson said.