Amount in addition to the bond to be paid to purchase the real property.

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The housing capacity of facility.

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Increase Decrease In Percentage Of Property Tax Abatement

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Lease Expiration Dates

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Lease Expiration Year

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Lease Termination Penalty

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Notice Period For Agreement Termination

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The number of corporate office buildings owned as of the balance sheet date.

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The number of correctional and detention facilities owned as of the balance sheet date.

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The number of facilities which are managed and not owned by the company.

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The number of facilities subject to purchase options.

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Number Of Properties Subject To Ground Leases And Purchase Option

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Number of years of tax abatement

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Percentage Of Property Tax Abatement

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Principal amount of bond issued as noncash consideration under tax abatement agreement.

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- Definition

The amount of expense recognized in the current period that reflects the allocation of the cost of tangible assets over the assets' useful lives. Includes production and non-production related depreciation.

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-SubTopic 10

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Amount of interest capitalized during the period.

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-Glossary Allowance for Funds Used during Construction

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Term of the lessee's leasing arrangement renewal, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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No definition available.

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Term of the lessor's leasing arrangement, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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Number of separate real estate development properties located on land subject to ground leases.

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The number of real estate properties owned as of the balance sheet date.

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Amount of required minimum rental payments for leases having an initial or remaining non-cancelable letter-terms in excess of one year.

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Rental expense for the reporting period incurred under operating leases, including minimum and any contingent rent expense, net of related sublease income.

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Minimum amount of other commitment not otherwise specified in the taxonomy. Excludes commitments explicitly modeled in the taxonomy, including but not limited to, long-term and short-term purchase commitments, recorded and unrecorded purchase obligations, supply commitments, registration payment arrangements, leases, debt, product warranties, guarantees, environmental remediation obligations, and pensions.

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Amount of asset related to consideration paid in advance for rent that provides economic benefits within a future period of one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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The number of units (items of property) under operating lease arrangements.

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Property and Equipment - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Facility Building Property Bed	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2009	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013 Y
Number of real estate properties owned	54us-gaap_NumberOfRealEstateProperties
Number of correctional and detention facilities	52
Number of real estate properties leased	3
Number of corporate office buildings	2cxw_NumberOfCorporateOfficeBuildings
Number of correctional and detention facilities owned by government agencies	12
Interest capitalization cost on construction in progress	$ 2,500,000us-gaap_InterestCostsCapitalized	$ 800,000us-gaap_InterestCostsCapitalized	$ 1,100,000us-gaap_InterestCostsCapitalized
Depreciation expense	114,000,000us-gaap_Depreciation	112,800,000us-gaap_Depreciation	113,200,000us-gaap_Depreciation
Number of facilities subject to options	11cxw_NumberOfFacilitiesSubjectToOptions
Number of facilities subject to options that are constructed on land which is leased from governmental agencies	2
Number of facilities also subject to purchase option	1
Number of beds at the facility	84,500cxw_HousingCapacityOfFacility
Rental expenses incurred on lease property	9,100,000us-gaap_OperatingLeasesRentExpenseNet	5,900,000us-gaap_OperatingLeasesRentExpenseNet	4,700,000us-gaap_OperatingLeasesRentExpenseNet
Purchase price paid for real property in addition to bonds value				100
Third Party Lessor
Agreement notice period for termination	90 days
Payment amount					70,000,000
Average number of useful life in years	4 years
Third Party Lessor \| Preexisting Cottages
Operating lease term	4 months
Third Party Lessor \| Minimum
Operating leases agreement renewal term	1 year
South Texas Family Residential Center
Contractually committed for various other services	57,600,000
Payments expected to be made under the cancelable lease	287,400,000
South Texas Family Residential Center \| Minimum
Agreement notice period for termination					90 days
South Texas Family Residential Center \| Maximum
Number of beds at the facility	2,400				2,400
Non-appropriation of fund \| Third Party Lessor
Agreement notice period for termination	60 days
Lease termination penalty	13,400,000
Facility one
Ground Lease expiration year	2015
Facility two
Ground Lease expiration year	2017
Elizabeth Detention Center
Operating lease, expire date	June 2015
San Diego Correctional Facility
Operating lease, expire date	December 2015
Wheeler County Development Authority
Percentage of property tax abatement				50.00%
Principal amount of bond issued				30,000,000
Number of years of tax abatement				6
Douglas-Coffee County Industrial Authority
Percentage of property tax abatement				100.00%
Principal amount of bond issued				33,000,000
Number of years of tax abatement				5
Development Authority Of Telfair County
Percentage of property tax abatement						90.00%
Principal amount of bond issued						$ 15,000,000
Number of years of tax abatement						9
Percentage of property tax abatement, decrease in percentage						10.00%