Schedule of Total Assets (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 4,039,742	$ 3,791,631
Safety
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	2,497,556	2,606,127
Community
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	251,012	275,882
CoreCivic Properties
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	785,153	682,249
Corporate and Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total assets	$ 506,021	$ 227,373