"I directed the Department of Corrections to identify level three sex offenders that with the use of GPS monitoring as a tool would be less of a threat to public safety," Gregoire told reporters.

Gregoire said the program will be paid for at first with money from an emergency fund that she said she can use for "critical needs of the state."

Gregoire said by the end of the week, there will be five level three sex offenders who will be monitored. Information regarding the sex offenders' whereabouts will be downloaded at least every 24 hours.

The program was announced before a task force -- made up of police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors -- finished its report.

Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge, who leads the task force, said the GPS monitoring program is part of the solution and won't solve the problem.

"But it has to be done. It should be done now. The program will be done gradually, thoughtfully and avoid mistakes along the way," Hauge said.

The task force was created after 12-year-old Zina Linnik, of Tacoma, was kidnapped and killed. The suspect in the case, Terapon Adhan, is a convicted sex offender.

By the end of the year, 50 of the most dangerous sex offenders will be tracked, Gregoire said.