Alberta's plan to fight crime by spending more to help drug addicts and alcoholics is on the right track, Calgary police Chief Rick Hanson said.

The provincial government announced Tuesday it will spend $470 million over the next three years to combat crime, including the creation of 100 more spaces in detox and treatment centres.

It will also increase the amount of time an addicted youth can be forced to spend in treatment from three to six months.

More help for addicts, who take up time and space in the justice system with petty crimes, should give police more time to focus on the larger problem of drug dealers and gang members, Hanson said Tuesday.

"They're the ones that have made crime a business, and they're living sometimes a very comfortable life," Hanson said.

"Those are the ones we have to focus on, as a police service, because they're continuing to create those other victims that we've been talking about, the addicted."

The government's plan to spend more money to hire extra police officers was also welcomed by Hanson, who said Calgary alone could use another 100 officers.

Prevention shortchanged by plan, critics say

The crime strategy is a good start, but more money should go to social agencies that contribute to crime prevention, Edmonton youth worker Mark Cherrington said.

"I say take the money from police, provide it to people that are specializing in dealing with the systemic issues of crime, that prevent crime, that reduce crime. We'd get better results, more bang for our bucks," he said.

The provincial co-ordinator of the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters, Jan Reimer, said the plan focuses too heavily on punishment and not enough on prevention.

With more money going into law enforcement, some social agencies may not receive the funding they need, she said.

The council would rather see more attention paid to housing, education, health care and family violence, she said.

"I would have liked to have seen a little more strength in those areas," she said.

The strategy is the province's response to the work of a government-appointed task force that travelled around the province earlier this year to solicit public opinion.

The government accepted the majority of the task force's 31 recommendations, including a suggestion to provide more help for people with addictions.

The task force also recommended expanding access to specialized courts that deal with mental illness and domestic violence, and emphasizing treatment over incarceration.