Tracy Andrus

Who is Tracy Andrus?

Dr. Tracy Andrus is a criminologist who is recognized for the development of two crime theories—"Enviroecogenetics" and "Broke Theory." Andrus grew up during the African American Civil Rights Movement, an era that included Dr. Martin Luther King's marches, Malcolm X's "By Any Means Necessary" speech, and the aftermath of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision. He earned four college degrees and became the first African American in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Juvenile Justice. After being sentenced to 57 years in prison for check kiting, Andrus spent only three years in the Louisiana and Texas Department of Corrections and was released in 1994. This started his interest in the criminal justice system. Dr. Andrus spends at least 20 weeks out of the year traveling abroad speaking to disadvantaged youth who are children of felons or have parents currently incarcerated in prison.