Sherlock Holmes stories glorify human intellect; his criminals are intellectual puzzles to be solved, not living breathing inhabitants of a world in their own right. The most dangerous criminals—Moriarty included—are scholars and university professors, because the threat they present is intellectual—it’s not meant to reflect real social issues, and it doesn’t really do it by accident either. Unless Sir Arthur was trying to warn the public that all academics are inherently untrustworthy. Which is fair.
