“For a criminal to use such data to facilitate commission of a crime, wouldn’t they still need to know an address to look for? If they already know the address of a potential victim, they don’t need Google to case the place. And if they don’t know the address, Google won’t help them find it.”
How hard would it be for a co-worker to get your address online? Your HR department already has it. How about any of the countless people that collect such information? A school worker, an employee at a doctor’s office, there are a lot of people that at least know your address.
In other words, anyone who already knows something about you can get your address. They don’t need Google for that. And if they don’t know you exist, the chance that they will find you with Google street view is minuscule.