The warrant fee must be allocated to the police department budget.

• A. The warrant fee goes into the city's general revenue fund.
• B. The warrant fee must be allocated to the police department budget.
• C. The warrant fee is kept by the court.
• D. The warrant fee is refunded if no warrant is issued.

Answer: (B)

When a warrant fee is charged, it’s treated as revenue that supports the law-enforcement agency handling the warrant. The fee covers the police department’s administrative and processing costs for issuing and managing warrants, so the money is allocated to the police department budget. It isn’t placed into the city’s general revenue fund, since that fund pools broad taxes and fees rather than funding a specific enforcement function. The court doesn’t keep the fee because the fee is for police action, not a court service. And the fee isn’t routinely refunded if no warrant is issued, because the processing work has already been performed and the fee is meant to cover that service, though exact rules can vary by jurisdiction.