Ottawa police are getting ready to launch an awareness campaign about how to prevent personal robberies as Apple gets set to release new products this week — the iPhone 5 widely speculated to be among them.

Ottawa police Staff Sgt. Mike Haarbosch of the robbery unit says police noticed a spike in personal robberies last year, not long after the release of the iPhone 4S. (CBC)

Staff Sgt. Mike Haarbosch of the Ottawa police robbery unit said it's "definitely been on our radar, so to speak.

"In anticipation of that, we're looking at doing some things to bring some awareness to the public about concealing these devices once they finally get into the hands of the consumers and the people on the street," he said.

Haarbosch said that last year, not long after the iPhone 4S was released and more people owned them, police noticed a spike in personal robberies and swarmings on local streets.

Many happened at bus stops, Haarbosch said, and especially the Mackenzie King Bridge. He said people often pull out their phones and stop paying attention to their surroundings while waiting for their buses to arrive.

But the robberies happen on buses, too. The suspects often rush off a bus after quickly grabbing a phone.

"The biggest thing is just to be aware of your surroundings and to conceal these devices when you're out in high population areas, and be aware that people who are standing around … may not necessarily be there to go from point A to point B," Haarbosh said.

"They may be there for a specific purpose, to get these kind of devices that can be re-sold for a fairly significant amount of money."