Stockholders Equity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	6 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2011	May 31, 2011	Feb. 28, 2010	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 Restricted Stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2012 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2011 Stock Options	Dec. 31, 2011 Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2012 General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock	Dec. 31, 2011 General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Operating Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 Operating Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Operating Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2011 Operating Expense Restricted Stock	Dec. 31, 2011 Operating Expense Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Officers And Executive Officers Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Other Employees Restricted Stock	Jun. 30, 2012 Executive Officers Stock Options	Jun. 30, 2012 Other Officers Stock Options	Dec. 31, 2011 Non-Employee Directors General and Administrative Expense Restricted Stock
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Allocation of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Quarterly dividend per share declared				$ 0.20	$ 0.20
Common stock dividend paid					$ 20.1
Approval of share repurchase program of CCA's common stock by company's Board of Directors	500.0	350.0	250.0
Increased aggregate value of shares authorized for repurchase under share repurchase program		100.0
Common stock repurchased by CCA, shares						17,700,000
Common stock repurchased by CCA						383.2
Common stock repurchased by CCA, average price per share						$ 21.63
Restricted common stock and common stock units and stock options issued by CCA to certain of its employees									346,000					706,000		575,000			287,000		227,000			59,000		38,000					265,000
Fair value of restricted common stock and common stock units and stock options issued by CCA to certain of its employees									9.1		6.5			5.3		5.6
Vesting period																											3 years		3 years	4 years
Performance criteria, cumulative period																											3 years
Percent of awards eligible to vest																											0.33%		0.33%	0.25%
Vesting period, continuous service requirement																												3 years
Allocated share-based compensation expense							2.0	1.5	3.6	3.0							1.7	1.2	3.1	2.4		0.3	0.3	0.5	0.6
Restricted common stock and common stock units remained outstanding and subject to vesting							790,000		790,000
Weighted average exercise price of common stock shares issued to directors, officers and executive officers														$ 26.26		$ 24.45
Expense net of estimated forfeitures, relating to common stock options												$ 1.3	$ 1.0	$ 2.3	$ 2.2
Common stock options outstanding												4,200,000		4,200,000
Weighted average exercise price of common stock outstanding												$ 20.55		$ 20.55