Goodwill - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Line Items]
Establishment of goodwill	This goodwill was established in connection with multiple business combination transactions.
Goodwill	$ 50,537	$ 50,537
CoreCivic Safety
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Line Items]
Goodwill	7,900	7,900
CoreCivic Community
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 42,600	$ 42,600

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77989000&loc=SL49117168-202975

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99380562&loc=d3e13770-109266

Name:	us-gaap_Goodwill
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant