About 500 cold case homicides in NSW from the past four decades will be reopened and looked at with the benefit of fresh eyes and cutting edge technology as police attempt to catch the killers.
The first 17 cases are already being re-investigated after the state's homicide squad began assessing unsolved matters under a new framework for prioritising them.
The squad's commander, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, says specialist detectives from across the force will conduct formal case reviews.
"While the Unsolved Homicide Unit is a finite resource, the NSW Police Force has a wealth of investigators whose skills can be harnessed to increase our capacity to put fresh eyes on cold cases," Det Supt Cook said in a statement on Monday.
The "rolling reviews" will also strengthen the relationship with victims' families, he added.
"We are committed to ensuring the most effective and efficient allocation of resources in order to maximise our capability to provide justice for victims and answers to their families."
The review team will look at potential witnesses, new technology and previous lines of inquiry.
The unsolved homicide squad was set up in 2004 and has so far solved more than 30 cases.
A further five are before the courts.
