Right, I've heard about that viewpoint as well. To be honest, it just sounds to me like they're trying to link two mysterious events together without any proof just to make their job easier. Two birds, one stone without checking to see if one of them is even a bird.

[Ren's definitely...not exactly a fan of the police or the justice system, really.]

I'm no Phantom Thieves fanboy, and you probably have more information on them than I do since you're a detective and all, but I really doubt they're behind the shutdowns. Maybe it's a bit of naive hope saying this, but I really don't think a group like them, trying to help others, would go about hurting people.