Schedule of Total Assets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 4,078,799	$ 3,791,631
Safety
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	2,553,970	2,606,127
Community
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	266,106	275,882
CoreCivic Properties
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	789,322	682,249
Corporate and Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 469,401	$ 227,373