Facility Activations, Developments, And Closures (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended							12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Sep. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011 Prairie Correctional Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Huerfano County Correctional Center Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Diamondback Correctional Facility [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 CDCR [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 Crowley County Correctional Facility And Prairie Correctional Facility [Member]	Sep. 30, 2010 Jenkins Correctional Center [Member] days	Dec. 31, 2011 Lake Erie Correctional Institution [Member] years	Dec. 31, 2011 Delta Correctional Facility [Member]	Nov. 30, 2011 Delta Correctional Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Otter Creek Correctional Center [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 San Diego Correctional Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Minimum [Member] San Diego Correctional Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Maximum [Member] San Diego Correctional Facility [Member]
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Construction cost of facility, capitalized amount						$ 29.0
Equipment						0.6
Pre-fabricated concrete cells						15.2
Number of beds at the facility							1,600	752	2,160						1,172	656	1,154
Increase in the funding for number of additional beds in the proposed budget		270
Expected additional number of offenders to be managed by the company											3,256	1,150
Carrying value of five idle facilities		103.7	107.5
Expected construction cost												51.0						142.0	150.0
Construction contract initial term, in years					1
Construction contract number of renewal options					24
Construction contract renewal option term, in years					1
Population guarantee, percentage												90.00%
Ramp-up period, in days												120
Existing number of facilities managed for another company or organization										5
Existing number of facilities managed for another company or organization number in use for additional inmates										4
Federal three-judge court ruling		In May 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling requiring California to reduce its inmate population to 137.5% of its current capacity, or to 110,000 inmates, by May 24, 2013.
Existing number of inmates managed by company for another organization										9,588
Percentage of management revenue generated from CDCR		13.00%	13.00%	11.00%
Number of inmates in the state of California		132,750
Inmate population percentage to reduce to	137.50%
Number of inmates to be reduced to	110,000
Number of facilities targeted for reduction		33
Number of beds funding approved for		9,588
Terms of contract awarded by the Georgia Department of Corrections		The contract has an initial one-year base term with 24 one-year renewal options. Additionally, the contract provides for a population guarantee of 90% following a 120-day ramp-up period.
Purchase price of facility													73.0
Expected amount of investment in capital improvements													3.1
Initial term of management contract, in years													20
Percentage of guaranteed occupancy under management contract													90.00%
Number of inmates to be transferred														900
Lease expiration date																	December 31, 2015
Amount invested to acquire property																	$ 44.0