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Debt - Additional Information (Detail)									1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
Debt - Additional Information (Detail)	Aug. 23, 2018 USD ($) ft²	Jul. 17, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 20, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 17, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 19, 2018 USD ($) ft²	Jan. 19, 2018 USD ($) ft²	Sep. 15, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 10, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Borrowings outstanding under credit facility												$ 201,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding												24,000,000	$ 6,900,000
Total debt												1,814,795,000	1,459,000,000
Purchase price of real estate		$ 12,000,000					$ 8,700,000	$ 7,700,000
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												1,814,795,000	1,459,000,000
Business acquisition assumed in-place financing												$ 157,280,000
Percentage of Senior Notes offer price in connection with an asset sale												100.00%
Percentage of Senior Notes offer price in connection with change in control												101.00%
Letters of credit, Remaining outstanding amount												$ 300,000
Combined Subsidiary Guarantors
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Ownership percentage of subsidiaries												100.00%
Capital Commerce Center
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Area of building acquired \| ft²					261,000	261,000
Purchase price of real estate					$ 44,700,000	$ 44,700,000
Incremental Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount				$ 100,000,000
Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Capitalized loan costs				100,000
Non-Recourse Mortgage Note \| Capital Commerce Center
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate					4.50%	4.50%
Amount of acquisition financed with non-recourse mortgage note					$ 24,500,000	$ 24,500,000
Mortgage note maturity date					2033-01
Mortgage note maturity term					15 years
Notes issuance costs					$ 400,000
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 23,400,000
Non-Recourse Senior Secured Notes \| Private Placement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount			$ 159,500,000
Debt maturity date			Jan. 31, 2040
Stated interest rate			4.43%
Mortgage note maturity term			20 years
Notes issuance costs			$ 3,400,000
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												62,300,000
Expected project completion period			first quarter of 2020
Non-Recourse Senior Secured Notes \| SSA-Baltimore
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt maturity date	Feb. 01, 2034
Stated interest rate	4.50%
Area of building acquired \| ft²	541,000
Purchase price of real estate	$ 242,000,000
Notes issuance costs	200,000
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 155,500,000
Business acquisition assumed in-place financing	157,300,000
Balloon payment	$ 40,000,000
New Credit Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit interest on outstanding borrowings												At CoreCivic's option, interest on outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility is based on either a base rate plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 1.00% or at the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 2.00% based on CoreCivic's then-current leverage ratio.
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				$ 1,000,000,000
Debt maturity period				Apr. 30, 2023
Total leverage covenant ratio				5.5
Line of credit facility, aggregate principal amount of additional borrowing				$ 350,000,000
Charges to write-off existing loan costs and other costs				1,000,000
New Credit Agreement \| Term Loan
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				$ 200,000,000
$900.0 Million Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total leverage covenant ratio				5.0
Term Loan Due in April 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Total debt												$ 197,500,000
Debt maturity date				Apr. 30, 2023								Apr. 30, 2023
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 197,500,000	85,000,000
Senior Notes 4.125% Due 2020
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount											$ 325,000,000
Debt maturity date											Apr. 01, 2020	Apr. 01, 2020
Stated interest rate											4.125%	4.125%
Debt instrument redemption percentage of par											100.00%
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 325,000,000	325,000,000
Senior Notes 4.625% Due 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount											$ 350,000,000
Debt maturity date											May 01, 2023	May 01, 2023
Stated interest rate											4.625%	4.625%
Debt instrument redemption percentage of par											100.00%
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 350,000,000	350,000,000
Senior Notes 5.0% Due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount										$ 250,000,000
Debt maturity date										Oct. 15, 2022		Oct. 15, 2022
Stated interest rate										5.00%		5.00%
Debt instrument redemption percentage of par										100.00%
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 250,000,000	250,000,000
Senior Notes 4.75% Due 2027
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Aggregate principal amount									$ 250,000,000
Debt maturity date									Oct. 15, 2027			Oct. 15, 2027
Stated interest rate									4.75%			4.75%
Debt instrument redemption percentage of par									100.00%
Debt Instrument outstanding balance												$ 250,000,000	$ 250,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Sublimit swing line loans				$ 30,000,000
Percentage of commitment fee to unfunded balance												0.35%
Line of credit facility, remaining borrowing capacity												$ 575,300,000
Sublimit for issuance of standby letters of credit				$ 50,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding												$ 23,700,000
Percentage of capital stock of foreign subsidiary secured by pledge under Revolving Credit Facilities				65.00%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Base Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate												0.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Base Rate \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate				0.00%
Revolving Credit Facility \| Base Rate \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate				1.00%
Revolving Credit Facility \| London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate												1.50%
Revolving Credit Facility \| London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate				1.00%
Revolving Credit Facility \| London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, percentage points added to reference rate				2.00%
Revolving Credit Facility \| New Credit Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				$ 800,000,000
Capitalized loan costs				2,100,000
Revolving Credit Facility \| $900.0 Million Revolving Credit Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity				$ 900,000,000
Debt maturity period				Jul. 31, 2020