Private groups announced Friday they're going to pay the exam fee for black applicants taking the Suffolk County Police Department exam.

The NAACP, the Urban League and several African-American churches announced they have raised enough money to pay the police exam fee for 87 black applicants.

No statistical progress has been made in the more than two decades since the U.S. Department of Justice ordered Suffolk to increase minority representation, according to department figures. Suffolk's force was 2.5 percent African-American then and is 2.5 percent African-American now.

With the $100 exam fee being paid for by private groups, county officials said they hope more African-Americans will be encouraged to take the test. That could lead to more diversity on the force.

County officials also said they are working to establish a similar private-funding program within the Hispanic community.