According to the Aditus Foundation, Safi Barracks is Malta's largest detention centre, which is located "within the compound of the Armed Forces of Malta headquarters. It is composed of several Blocks with a total capacity of around 1,000 persons, with a block reserved for unaccompanied children and another for women. Blocks A, D and C are large dormitories with various zones within each block. In Block A, several rooms in the zones have 2 sets of lined-up 10 bunk beds in around 40m2. Each room has a few cupboards, tables and chairs. Windows and doors are barred, the latter leading to a shared corridor with some benches and tables. There are shared toilets and showers. Each block has a bare tarmac exercise yard, shared amongst the 4 zones per block for a few hours each day. Block B (female), holding up to 12 women, is made up of pre-fabricated units surrounding a partly shaded tarmac yard, with an outside table, benches and small library. Rooms have wall-mounted air conditioners and heaters. Block (B), two warehouses holding up to 550 persons, is filled with rows of bunk-beds. One warehouse is internally split into smaller units. In both, there are shared toilets and showers. Block C, with a capacity of 70 persons, is packed with rows of bunk beds. There are a few tables and chairs, shared showers and toilets and a washing area for detainees to wash their clothes. Block G is the Close Monitoring Unit (CMU), holding up to 7 people. There are 3 single-cell rooms of around 4.8m2 each and 2 double cells of around 7m2. The latter have two bunk beds and unscreened toilets without lids, and both areas are under 24/7 CCTV monitoring. There is a small outside yard with a table, two benches and a washing machine."

“In 2023, a dedicated Female Section was opened in the Safi Detention Centre. However, it was never accessed or seen by NGOs or lawyers visiting the Centre. NGOs visiting detention noted that they were mostly unaware of the presence of women in detention. Newly-arrived single women were hardly ever detained in Safi Barracks, the detained women generally being those arrested on the territory with a view to their removal. No information of their presence in Safi was formally provided to NGOs, and they were not referred to NGOs for the provision of services.”