Boston city officials are seeking community input on a body camera pilot program for the Boston Police Department and will hold three community forums this week to discuss the initiative with residents.

“I see it as twofold: It’s to educate the public on the pilot program. I think there are many residents who don’t know what’s going to happen,’’ said Boston City Councilor Andrea J. Campbell, chairwoman of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, who is hosting the meetings along with the Social Justice Task Force, which has been working with police on their policy. “But most importantly, it’s an opportunity for us to hear from the public their concerns, their thoughts, their ideas.’’

Community leaders who have been advocating for body cameras said they hoped the meetings would allow for robust discussion, and the opportunity for residents to help shape the policy governing the cameras.

“The argument for us was never whether body cameras were good for Boston, because we knew body cameras were coming to Boston whether it was 2016 or 2026,’’ said Segun Idowu, co-organizer of the Boston Police Camera Action Team, which is not affiliated with police but has worked with other groups to draft a proposal policy. “Our question was, what role will the community have in shaping the policy?’’

Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans said the department has been working for months and studying body camera programs from other cities, such as New York and Las Vegas, to put together the Boston pilot, which he hopes will go into effect in May or June.

“We want to be as transparent as possible. We want to respect both people’s privacy as well as the policy officers’ privacy,’’ said Evans. “It’s a slow process, and we want to make sure we get it right.’’

One hundred officers across the city would wear the cameras, Evans said. His department has worked with city officials, a legal team at Harvard, academics, and the Social Justice Task Force, which includes clergy and community leaders, to develop the plan. They are still trying to work out questions about issues including when the cameras will be turned on and off, how long to keep the footage, and how to decide what is deleted and what is preserved.

For example, Evans said, officers would not want to violate people’s privacy during a domestic violence situation or sexual assault by filming.

“Every single body camera policy has to do three things,’’ said Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. “It has to govern what events the officers should record, what should be done with the video once it’s created, and what the consequences should be when officers violate the rules.’’

The ACLU, which also worked with the Boston Police Camera Action Team, the Boston branch of the NAACP, and the Harvard Black Law Students Association on their proposed policy, recommends prohibiting recording without notice and consent, a ban on surveillance of activists, and prompt deletion of a video that doesn’t involve the use of force, a complaint, a detention, or an arrest. Officers should have limited discretion to turn off cameras, Segal said. They should write initial police reports before viewing footage, and there should be discipline for those who violate the policy, he said.

Idowu said his group had conducted community forums in late 2014 as they developed the proposed policy, and heard concerns from some residents about cameras being used for police surveillance.

“These can be dangerous,’’ he said. “They’re capable of facial recognition.’’

This was why it was important for the community to have a voice as the policy is crafted, he said, but he said he had not gotten the opportunity to present the proposed pilot to police despite several requests.

Campbell said she is planning a formal hearing in addition to the three community meetings, and more public outreach after that. Evans said residents will have the ability to affect the policy.

“I think this is the beginning of many conversations,’’ said Michael Curry, president of the Boston branch of the NAACP. He said he felt police had been attuned to social issues surrounding body cameras, but slow to adopt them in Boston, and he feared police were not wholeheartedly on board with the idea of body cameras.

But Evans said police are filmed on the job constantly, either by security cameras or private citizens, and have no problem being filmed. All a body camera is, Evans said, is a “gadget’’ and police have done the hard work of reaching out to community members, holding dialogues, and building relationships for years.

“I think honestly, our men and women do a great job every day,’’ said Evans. “We don’t have anything to hide.’’

The city budget has $500,000 set aside for the pilot, according to a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh.

“The mayor is committed to exploring if body cameras are the right choice for the Boston Police Department,’’ said spokeswoman Bonnie McGilpin in a prepared statement. “He agrees with the commissioner that the priority is building strong community relationships and enhancing trust between police officers and residents, and he is committed to utilizing tools that support this effort.’’

Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.