Unified police officials for the first time gathered together family members of homicide victims whose cases have grown cold. For some, it was the first time the police had contacted them about their loved one in decades.

For some, it has been decades since their loved one was murdered, with no answers about who the killer might be.

The cases went cold. Years stretched on, often with little or no communication from the police about the case.

They were left to wonder not only who killed their family member — but were the police doing anything on their case?

The Unified Police Department has changed the way they handle cold cases, and that now includes improving their efforts to communicate with family members who may have not received a call from a police officer about their case in decades.