The Sect is excellent with coverups, so if anyone were to try and capture the bandits on their own, some thaumaturges would appear and 'help' kill the thieves under the pretext of 'serving the country'. Even if no one tried to stop the bandits, the Sect would have done this anyway. The bandits, and any similar criminals, would be pawns for the Sect to dispose of later.

True, having Melvin as a wanted criminal wouldn't be enough in the grand scheme of things, but I want to handle this one step at a time. We're only at the beginning, so I want to go at a decent pace here. Ultimately, the Sect would want him dead not because he's a criminal, but because he's a living specimen of their Dragon Blood Project that needs to be silenced ASAP to protect their secrets.