The thinktank, founded by former Conservative leader Iain Duncan-Smith, is carrying out research on street gangs. The findings will be published next January.
Researchers looked into the UK's street gang culture and discovered that six per cent of 10- to 19-year-olds were in gangs.
They found that gang members are three times as likely to carry a weapon than those not connected to gangs.
Speaking at crime-reduction charity Nacro's conference, Back from the Brink: Turning Young People Away From Crime, Duncan-Smith said: "The gang lifestyle replaces the family group they never had."
He added that gangmembers' attitudes to women were a particular concern. "Girls are traded to pay off debts," he said. "Many of the girls come from dysfunctional families and have no sense of their own worth."
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