Thieves use Google Street View to case barns, say farmers

FARMERS fear that thieves are using Google Street View to scope out their properties and have been advised to request that their barns are blurred out.

The Tenants Farmers Association has urged landowners to consider how their property’s security perimeter may be compromised if viewed online.

Police said recent raids in rural areas have been carried out by gangs who seemed to know what tools to bring to break into properties. If Google owns an image, farmers can request blurring or can report the photo if it contains a “home or other identifying information” or violates privacy policies.

Thieves are increasingly singling out GPS kit from farm equipment. The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society said the cost of theft claims for GPS reached £2.9 million in 2020.

A Google spokesman said Street View images were “no different” from what can be seen walking down the street and that “saying that Street View is enabling crime is like blaming the motor industry for crime because criminals also use getaway cars”.