Organization and Operations - Additional Information (Detail) - 3 months ended Mar. 31, 2018 ft² in Millions	Facility Segment	Bed	Property	ft²
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of Operating segments | Segment	3
CoreCivic Safety
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of facilities operated by the company	51
Number of facilities owned by the company	44
Number of beds at the facility | Bed		73,000
CoreCivic Community
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of centers owned and operated by company	26
Number of beds at the center | Bed		5,000
CoreCivic Properties
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Line Items]
Number of properties leased to third parties and used by government agencies	13		13
Number of square feet | ft²				1.4