After completing basic training, Sergeant Mataika was assigned to the Central Police Station in Suva where she spent time in each section.
She had her share of pounding the beat and putting up with the curious stares of Suva residents who were not used to the idea of policewomen. According to The Fiji Times on February 12, 1976, there were 16 police women in the force.
They had become a familiar sight in their new uniforms — white skirt, black military-style jacket and a black hat with a checked band. They had been part of the regular police force since 1970.
Sergeant Mataika made her share of arrests also, mostly drunk and disorderly cases. “I would go up to the person and tell them I was arresting them for such-and-such.
“Then I would ask them if they would like to accompany me to the police station.
“They always did. I never had any trouble,” she shared laughingly.
“We know about self-defence, but I never had to use it.”
Sergeant Mataika had spent some time in the traffic section too, where going to the scene of gory road accidents became “just part of the job”.
In 1971 she was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department.
Much of her work involved interviewing women, a job she found most interesting.
“I worked on three murder cases. The first one was really exciting.
“After that they became just part of the job, although I still found them interesting.”
As a member of police force, Sergeant Mataika’s job ended with finding and arresting an offender. But her personal opinion is that corporal punishment is of no use at all.
She said she did not believe that it deterred people from crime.
To join the police force, women recruits of the 1970s needed to have passed the Fiji Junior Certificate examination, and needed to have a minimum height of 5ft 6ins and physically fit, and unmarried.
Sergeant Mataika suggested they should also have a sympathetic attitude.
She said the condition requiring policewomen to be unmarried should be reviewed.
She would like to see it changed so married women could also have a career in the police force.
Sergeant Mataika had no plans for marriage.
Her ambition was to become the first woman police superintendent.
