Terror Scene Management
Command, forensics and victim identification in one operational system.
TSM coordinates the complete operational chain at complex scenes: rescue, threat control, advanced CSI, CBRN and radiological safety, DVI, medical interfaces, weapons intelligence and early evidence exploitation—working in parallel from a shared command picture.
TSM · TVI · CBRN · RCSM · DVI · CSI · Battlefield Forensics · WCI
The operational advantage
Not sequential response. Controlled parallel action.
Rescue, threat control, CBRN safety and casualty care continue while authorised forensic teams identify evidence with immediate investigative value and pass on the findings. Recovery priorities account for perishability, threat relevance and later evidential value. Early findings may support attribution and the disruption of follow-on threats before full scene processing is complete.
Same incident. Coordinated action.
01 · Sequential operationsEach function waits for the previous one to finish.
INCIDENTFIRST OPERATIONAL PHASESTABILISATION
TSM
TSMACTIVE
SHARED PICTUREINTERFACESTASK CONTROLREASSESS
RESCUE & MEDICAL
SECURITY
USAR
CBRN
CSI
DVI
DEVICE & MATERIAL EXAM.
NOW
CHANGEREASSESS
ACTIVEWAITWAITWAITWAITWAITWAIT
Sequential tasks → TSM coordination → Parallel working → Reassessment → Early identification
Operational friction
“A good plan that can be executed in time is more valuable than a perfect plan delivered too late.”TSM operational principleOperational friction · Clausewitz: On War, Book I, Chapter 7 ↗
Time pressure, uncertainty, hazards and incomplete information combine to complicate scene operations. TSM builds on a shared operational picture and an actionable plan. Participating organisations coordinate their tasks and revise the plan together as conditions change.
Scene complexity
One scene can demand rescue, hazard control, identification and evidence recovery at the same time.
TSM connects advanced crime-scene investigation, CBRN and radiological scene management, DVI, major-incident medical coordination, battlefield forensics and war crime investigation. The objective is controlled parallel action: protect life and responders while preserving traceability, evidential value and the route from scene to court.
TSM Civilian
Prepared People. Safer Communities.
Practical, evidence-informed guidance for ordinary people facing extraordinary situations.
Explore Civilian guidance →Knowledge & publications
Research, publications and operational experience.
Publications on radiological crime scene management, the weapons and methods used in European terrorist attacks, and digital scene documentation.
Az Európai Unió területén 2000 és 2023 között elkövetett terrorcselekmények eszközei és módszerei, valamint ezek jövőbeni alkalmazásának várható tendenciái
Open source ↗Terrorcselekmény helyszínén a digitális jegyzőkönyvezés problémái / Problems with digital report at the scene of a terrorist attack
Open source ↗Connected fields
Coordinated disciplines, shared scene tasks.
Explore scene tasks, decision points, interagency coordination and evidence-handling requirements for each specialist field.
TSM & advanced CSICommand decisions translated into a defensible scene strategy.Open field+
Scene assessment, prioritisation, documentation, reconstruction, continuity and decision records are connected to rescue, safety, intelligence and judicial requirements instead of being treated as a separate technical phase.
Open field →
CBRN forensics & RCSMForensic recovery under chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear constraints.Open field+
Hazard assessment, zoning, access control, PPE, measurement, contamination control, sampling and packaging are planned together with evidential continuity and responder protection.
Open field →
DVI and casualty-care coordinationCoordinating care for survivors and identification of the deceased at a shared scene.Open field+
Medical care and identification of the deceased are distinct tasks that need to be coordinated at the scene. DVI connects body recovery, post-mortem and ante-mortem data collection, and reconciliation to establish identity in accordance with national and INTERPOL procedures.
Open field →
Battlefield Forensics & War Crime InvestigationBattlefield forensics · War crime investigation (WCI)Open field+
We conduct battlefield forensic work and war crime investigations. This includes scene documentation, locating and recording evidence, and analysing findings.
Open field →
Clandestine drug laboratoriesDetection and dismantling begin with chemical risk, scene control and process evidence.Open field+
The approach covers recognition, risk-led entry, production-process documentation, sampling, hazardous-material coordination, dismantling support and evidence continuity in synthetic-drug laboratories.
Open field →
Forensic technologiesUAVs, 3D documentation, radar, Raman spectroscopy and rapid DNA analysis.Open field+
UAV imaging and 3D laser scanning support scene documentation; radar supports detection and survey; Raman spectroscopy supports substance identification; and rapid DNA analysis supports identification. Examination findings are linked to scene records and the evidence-handling process.
Open field →
TVI — Terror Victim IdentificationIdentifying the deceased while scene operations are still under way.Open field+
TVI focuses on identifying deceased persons at terrorist incident scenes as early as possible, while scene operations are still in progress. It coordinates DVI and crime scene investigation so that the data and samples needed for identification are available promptly. Establishing the identities of victims and possible perpetrators can provide immediate investigative leads, helping locate associated people, places and devices and prevent further attacks.
Open field →Education & exercises
From professional knowledge to observable performance.
Professional instruction; exercise design, delivery and evaluation; tabletop exercises (TTX), field scenarios and objective structured practical examinations (OSPE).
Scenario-led instruction
Facilitated work links a shared incident picture to roles, priorities and decision points.
DVI field exercise
Practical coordination at the interface between victim recovery, documentation and identification processes.
Tabletop exercise design
A physical scene model makes resources, zones, interfaces and consequences visible to participants.
Founder & Lead Expert
Lt. Col. Kornél Papp
Senior investigation and forensic leader · Hungary’s National DVI Coordinator · International trainer
Built from operational leadership, developed through research.
Kornél Papp has more than two decades of experience in criminal investigation, forensic operations and international capacity building, including over fifteen years in leadership. As Head of the Central Forensic Division at the Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation, he leads national-level crime-scene capability for the country’s most serious and complex investigations. Over the past decade, he has held scene-command, specialist-leadership or coordination responsibilities at numerous major incidents of national significance in Hungary. He created the TSM model and is pursuing doctoral research in Military Sciences while contributing to international education and professional knowledge exchange in DVI, CBRN and radiological crime-scene management.
20+years in investigation and forensics
15+years in leadership
NationalDVI coordination
Internationaltraining and capacity building
Selected professional engagements
National and international roles relevant to TSM.
Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation
Head of the Central Forensic Division · 2020–present
INTERPOL
DVI Working Group member · Permanent Hungarian delegate
International Atomic Energy Agency
Radiological Crime Scene Management trainer
United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
CBRN consultant · International capacity building
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International instructor · CBRN forensic expert
NATO
Experience in major-incident medical coordination · Vigorous Warrior DVI coordination
European Training Centre for Active Forensic Sciences
International instructor
Abu Dhabi Police
Recurring international forensic and DVI instruction
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL)
External expert and international instructor · DVI and TVI activities
Long-term professional cooperation
TSM and ETAF: international training and professional cooperation.
Since 2022, Kornél Papp has worked within ETAF’s international instructor network. The cooperation connects recurring DVI, CBRN and CSI education, programme and exercise development, battlefield-forensics workshop preparation and international capacity-building assignments. ETAF also presents Terror Scene Management and CBRNe DVI/CSI among its professional fields.
Visit ETAF’s professional platform ↗Professional collaboration and enquiries
A lecture, training programme, exercise or research project?
Contact us about conference presentations, professional training, workshops, exercise design, research or publication collaboration. Tell us the topic, intended participants and proposed dates so we can discuss the scope and terms of involvement.