Schedule of Revenue and Net Operating Income of Owned and Managed and the Managed-Only Facilities and Reconciliation to CCA's Operating Income (Detail) - Entity [Domain] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total management revenue	$ 449,767	$ 400,352	$ 866,675	$ 799,267
Total operating expenses	312,119	281,515	604,428	567,608
Rental and other revenue	9,528	10,342	18,620	15,649
Other operating expense	(5,916)	(6,095)	(14,269)	(7,382)
General and administrative	(23,107)	(26,559)	(49,979)	(51,951)
Depreciation and amortization	(38,400)	(28,752)	(67,085)	(57,136)
Asset impairments		(2,238)	(955)	(2,238)
OPERATING INCOME	79,753	65,535	148,579	128,601
Owned and managed
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total management revenue	396,053	340,024	760,017	674,936
Total operating expenses	263,419	227,679	507,719	455,327
OPERATING INCOME	132,634	112,345	252,298	219,609
Managed-only
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total management revenue	53,714	60,328	106,658	124,331
Total operating expenses	48,700	53,836	96,709	112,281
OPERATING INCOME	5,014	6,492	9,949	12,050
Facility
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
OPERATING INCOME	$ 137,648	$ 118,837	$ 262,247	$ 231,659