First and foremost, they protect al-Saud Sudeiri Seven by playing the equivalent role of the Secret Service in the United States. Hundreds are assigned to that task and they move around the clock with the Sudeiri Seven move. They drive behind in large American cars and are armed to the teeth with machine guns, stinger missiles, and hand grenades.

The second department handles the public at large through physical monitoring and communications interception. You find them in hotel lobbies, soccer stadiums, shopping malls, airports, hanging around with a purpose and sometimes for no purpose but to look for signs of trouble. The chances are that if you see someone sitting in a hotel lobby with no purpose, he is more than likely a Mabaheth just doing his dirty job. A large part of that group is in the eastern Province monitoring the Shia'a through road blocks, home raids with no reason but to harass, and patrol cars circulating in dense residential and commercial areas.

The third department's job is to torture and extract confessions from those who are either condemned through the Sudeiri legal system or who have been rattled against, rightly or not, by other Mabaheth or third parties. This department is the eyes and ears of Naef bin Abdul Aziz, which in turn is the eyes and ears of his brothers. Made mostly of sadistic Bedouins, with sometimes a foreigner or two, they are the soul breakers of anyone or anything that may stand in the way of al-Saud Sudeiri Seven. They sometimes get overboard, which may cause the death of their prisoners (regardless whether they are innocent or guilty). However, they are never criticized or ostracized for any mistakes. Their job is too important to be disturbed with trivialities.

The heads of these departments are only known to the ruling al-Saud.  They are trusted individuals who have been around as long as al-Saud have been around. They are rewarded with an additional annual stipend for their work and their loyalty. Contrary to the belief of many, al-Saud do not allow the heads of these departments to travel abroad without an official reason related to internal security. And when they do, there are monitors monitoring the monitors.