A complaint is a statement before an authority to give notice of an illegal act.
Before proceeding to analyze in depth the meaning of the term denunciation that concerns us now, we have to establish that it has its etymological origin in Latin. This is demonstrated by the fact that it is made up of three clearly differentiated Latin parts that attest to it: the prefix -, which can be translated as "deprivation"; the verb nunciare , which is synonymous with "make known"; and the suffix – ia , which is equivalent to “quality.”
Complaint is the action and effect of reporting (warning, reporting, declaring the irregularity or illegality of something, reporting). The complaint can be made to the corresponding authorities (which implies the implementation of a judicial mechanism) or publicly (only with testimonial value).
For example: "A new complaint complicates the mayor accused of corruption" , "A mother filed a complaint against her son, accusing him of abuse and violence" , "The journalist promised to go to court to formalize his complaint for threats" .
The complaint, a communication of an illegal act
The complaint, therefore, can also be the statement and the document in which the authority is informed of the commission of a misdemeanor or crime . It could be said that the complaint informs the authorities about an illegal act and forces them to mobilize, first to verify that the crime exists and then to determine responsibilities and punishments.
The police are usually the first body to receive a complaint. If a person walks down the street and sees a thief assault a woman, he or she usually goes to the police for help and to report the criminal. Something similar happens when an individual suffers a robbery: they must go to the police station to file a report. The police will then begin to investigate and request judicial action.
Citizens can go to the police to make a report.
Classification according to type
It is important to know that there are many types of complaints, however, among the most significant are the following:
• Anonymous . As its name indicates, it is one that is carried out by a person without revealing their identity.
• Criminal . It is the one that comes to record that one has been a witness or victim of a specific crime. It can be undertaken either in writing or orally, before the police.
For theft, for sale, for fraud, for violence, for abuse or for threats are other types of complaints that exist, as well as those for ecological crime.
The administrative ones , meanwhile, are those in which basically what is done is to record a fact or an action that has occurred within the administrative heart and that goes against the law.
false complaint
False reporting is known as the incorrect accusation of a crime before an authority.
When the reported facts do not coincide with reality, a false report is made and a crime is committed: "Ramírez assured that he will take Gómez to court for false reporting."