The officers of the Mabahith have delegated powers to investigate, survey, and detain individuals who are deemed to be "threats to national security".

[1] The Mabahith has conducted a wide variety of security operations that have led to the arrest of high profile terrorists, and opposition members that have been accused of causing internal unrest.

[2] According to Human Rights Watch, the Mabahith "monitors suspected political opponents and others, targets individuals for arrest, and interrogates detainees.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, women activists – who have been detained since May 2018 – were taken to Dhahban and tortured in a room called an "officer's guesthouse".

Reportedly, the men who tortured these women were from "cyber security" – a reference to officers working under Saud al-Qahtani, who was fired for his involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.