Something illegal was going on at the old warehouse on the 2900 block of Ana Street in Compton.

An anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers last fall later confirmed it. Compton Sheriff’s investigators found 4,199 marijuana plants growing in neat rows under dim lighting inside the building as well as 200 pounds of finished product worth $7.5 million. Twelve people were arrested, all thanks to the nameless tipster.

Such calls, texts and emails to the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers have increased, and those who oversee the local program say they hope the numbers continue to rise. It’s especially important now, when witnesses to non-emergency crimes don’t seem to be calling their local law enforcement agencies as much, said Natalie Salazar, executive director for Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers.

“We’re in a situation when people are very distrustful of law enforcement,” Salazar said. “We’d like them to call law enforcement, but they don’t.”

The distrust grew after what happened in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014, Salazar said. That’s when Darren Wilson, a white suburban St. Louis police officer, fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed, black 18-year-old, after a confrontation. A grand jury later decided not to indict Wilson. The Aug. 9 shooting inflamed tensions in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb of Ferguson that was patrolled by an overwhelmingly white police force.

Distrust of law enforcement has continued since, and now within the Latino community. Police say they believe Latinos are afraid the Trump administration is pressing state and local law enforcement officials to assist U.S. immigration agents to deport them.

In March, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said at an event in East Los Angeles that Latinos were reporting fewer crimes committed against them, according to reporters there. He said reports of sexual assault have dropped 25 percent among them since the beginning of 2017 compared with the same period last year.

“While there is no direct evidence that the decline is related to concerns within the Hispanic community regarding immigration, the department believes deportation fears may be preventing Hispanic members of the community from reporting when they are victimized,” the LAPD said in a statement to news organizations in March.

But the regional Crime Stoppers tip lines have seen an increase. The number of tips provided in the first quarter this year doubled from 2015, or 53 percent more.

What people don’t know is that Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $1,000 if an arrest is made, through a code system, Salazar noted.

“What we hope is we don’t have to pay people to do the right thing,” Salazar said, but the money is there.

People who witness a non-emergency crime can call the 24 hour/7 day a week tip line at 1-800-222-8477, or go to www.lacrimestoppers.org or text a tip to a mobile app: P3 Tips. Tips should include detailed information about the suspect, such as his or her address, the vehicle, and the crime. The information is sent to a second party command center in Texas. All information, except for the tip itself, is encrypted. The tipster does not give his or her name, address, or any other information, but is provided with a code number to use to claim a reward.

Reward amounts are based on the severity of the crime and if an arrest is made. Unlike rewards offered through city and county law enforcement agencies, Crime Stoppers rewards are not based on convictions and the tipster does not have to appear in court. Also, the tipster can’t be a victim of a crime.

To find out if an arrest has been made, the anonymous tipster contacts Crime Stoppers and provides the code number. If an arrest has been made, another code number will be assigned to claim the reward. The code can be taken to any Nix neighborhood lending business to redeem for cash.

The nonprofit Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers is funded by private donations and annual fundraisers. Since it was launched in 2009, there have been 68,360 tips to the Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers. Those tips have led to 2,325 arrests and more than $30 million in illegal drugs seized in the Los Angeles area, according to officials. Authorities confiscated 169 weapons.

Since 2009 until April of this year, there were 125 rewards approved totalling $32,835. Of those, only 10 were claimed resulting in $3,500 in cash.

Crime Stoppers began in Albuquerque in 1976 and has spawned chapters worldwide. Glendale has had the program since 1994 and the Los Angeles Police Department since 2008 but the regional effort now includes more than four dozen different law enforcement agencies in 88 cities across Los Angeles County. The FBI and U.S. Marshals have joined in as well.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Joe Williams, who oversees the operations unit at the Compton station, said detectives find the tips helpful.

“The majority of what they receive are narcotic tips,” Williams said. “However, one of our detectives received a tip on a shooting incident and there was an arrest.”

Salazar called Crime Stoppers a solution for those who want to help law enforcement, without getting involved in the criminal justice system, but who still want to be good citizens.

“This is a tool for the community,” she added.