Organization And Operations (Details)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Number of facilities owned by company	47
Number of facilities leased to other operators	2
Number of facilities operated by company	66
Number of states in which company operates facilities	20
Lake Erie Correctional Institution [Member]
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Number of beds at the facility	1,798
Millen, Georgia Facility [Member]
Collaborative Arrangements and Non-collaborative Arrangement Transactions [Line Items]
Number of beds at the facility	1,124
Expected completion date of facility	2012