In an era where forensic analysis has been popularized through TV shows like “Dexter” and the “CSI” series, a presentation by a known criminal profiler and forensic analyst will put a real-life spin on crime at noon today.

Dr. Maurice Godwin will speak at the Learning Resources Center at Beaufort County Community College at today. The public is invited to attend. Godwin is a former police officer and the current owner of Godwin Trial and Forensic Consultancy Inc., but it’s his experience with many high-profile cases that he’ll discuss with the audience.

Several times a month, the national media calls on Godwin to get his take on crime; most recently for his interpretation of Ariel Castro’s suicide in light of the man’s agreement to a guilty plea and a thousand-plus-year sentence. Castro was the Cleveland school-bus driver who kidnapped three young women and held them captive for over a decade.

“I get calls probably six, seven times a month,” Godwin said. “What I do is review what’s (the information) available and then put it in short talking points and address those.”

Godwin said his consulting firm’s clients are predominantly defense attorneys on major cases, as well as the families of missing persons. His current cases involve investigating a 2008 death that was ruled a suicide and a recent parolee who served 16 years of a 30-year sentence for the murder of her husband yet has hired Godwin to prove her innocence, he said.

Godwin said he’s happy to speak at BCCC — he makes a point of lecturing at community colleges because he got his start at Vance-Granville Community College. Now, he holds a doctorate in investigative psychology from the University of Liverpool in England, according to his biography. Godwin said he combines the art of criminal profiling with forensic analysis, two features of crime solving that are usually carried out separately.

“It’s a fascinating field — there are a lot of myths,” Godwin said. “Most all criminal profilers have no background in forensic science. Criminal profilers are rarely there after a crime; they have to rely on reports. … If you don’t have (forensic) training, how can you interpret anything of that or extrapolate it into a profile. That has been a big problem.”