Subsequent Events - Additional Information (Detail) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions								1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 22, 2018 $ / shares	Jan. 24, 2018 Bed	Jan. 19, 2018 USD ($) ft²	Jan. 02, 2018 USD ($) State	Sep. 15, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 10, 2016 USD ($) Bed	Aug. 27, 2015 USD ($) Bed	Feb. 28, 2018 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2015 $ / shares
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Purchase price of real estate					$ 8,700,000	$ 7,700,000	$ 13,800,000
Number of beds at the facility | Bed						112	600
Dividend declared per common share | $ / shares									$ 1.68	$ 2.04	$ 2.16
Revolving Credit Facility | $900.0 Million Revolving Credit Facility
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity									$ 900,000,000	$ 900,000,000
Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Dividend declared per common share | $ / shares	$ 0.43
Dividend payable date	Apr. 16, 2018
Dividend declared, record date	Apr. 02, 2018
Subsequent Event | Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | CoreCivic's employees and non-employee directors
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Number of shares issued | shares								0.9
Aggregate value of shares issued								$ 19,800,000
Subsequent Event | Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Officers And Executive Officers
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Number of shares issued | shares								0.6
Vesting period								3 years
Subsequent Event | Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Other Employees
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Number of shares issued | shares								0.3
Vesting period								3 years
Subsequent Event | Kansas Department Of Corrections
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Lease term		20 years
Number of beds at the facility | Bed		2,432
Construction of new facility expected commencement description		Construction of the new facility is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2018 with a timeline for completion of approximately 24 months.
Construction of new facility approximate completion term		24 months
Rocky Mountain Offender Management Systems, LLC | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Number of states in which company facilities are located | State				8
Aggregate purchase price				$ 7,000,000
Capital Commerce Center | Subsequent Event
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Area of building acquired | ft²			261,000
Purchase price of real estate			$ 44,700,000
Percentage of building leased			98.00%
Capital Commerce Center | Subsequent Event | Revolving Credit Facility | $900.0 Million Revolving Credit Facility
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Line of credit facility maximum borrowing capacity			$ 900,000,000
Capital Commerce Center | Subsequent Event | Non-Recourse Mortgage Note
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Amount of acquisition financed with non-recourse mortgage note			$ 24,500,000
Stated interest rate			4.50%
Mortgage note maturity period			2033
Capital Commerce Center | Subsequent Event | Florida
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Percentage of building leased			87.00%