Real Estate Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) $ in Thousands, shares in Millions										1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended					12 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2021 USD ($) Property	Jun. 25, 2021 USD ($) ft²	May 28, 2021 USD ($) Property	May 24, 2021 USD ($) ft²	Dec. 23, 2020 USD ($) Property	Jan. 02, 2020 USD ($) Property shares	Jun. 24, 2019 USD ($)	May 06, 2019 USD ($) ft²	Feb. 20, 2019 USD ($) Bed	Feb. 28, 2021 Facility Agreement	Mar. 31, 2022 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) Facility Bed	Sep. 30, 2021 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2021 USD ($) Property	Mar. 31, 2021 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($) Facility Bed Property	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) Property	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) Bed	Apr. 30, 2021 Bed	Sep. 30, 2020 Bed	Jun. 30, 2020 Bed	Jan. 24, 2018 Bed
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Purchase price of real estate						$ 83,200
Purchase price, net tangible assets						77,400												$ 7,400
Purchase price, identifiable intangible assets						$ 7,500												800
Proceeds from sale of property																$ 320,754	$ 113,602	4,295
Number of properties acquired | Property					28	28
Cash payments to acquire properties						$ 7,700
Debt assumed on acquisition of property						$ 52,200											52,217
Conversion holding period of operating partnership units						2 years
Operating partnership units description						one-for-one basis
Purchase price, tenant improvements						$ 4,900
Number of properties sold | Property	1		2		42									3
Real estate investment property aggregate selling price	$ 253,000		$ 73,000		$ 106,500
Net proceeds after the repayment of debt	$ 76,400		$ 46,200		27,800
Net loss on sale properties, after recognizing tax protection payments					$ 17,900
Net gain (loss) on sale of properties														$ 38,900
Asset impairments																$ 11,378	$ 60,628	4,706
Number of real estate assets held for sale | Property																2	3
Net book value of property and equipment												$ 7,000				$ 7,000	$ 241,800
Deferred leasing costs and other assets																	37,600
Revenues																1,862,616	1,905,485	1,980,689
Operating Expense																$ 1,337,065	1,406,376	1,422,769
Purchase and Sale Agreements
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Impairment on property recognized as asset held for sale												$ 2,000
Purchase and Sale Agreements | Scenario Forecast
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Aggregate gross sales price											$ 9,900
Gain on sale of properties to be recognized upon completion											$ 2,000
CoreCivic Safety segment
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the facility | Bed												69,000				69,000
Community
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed												5,000				5,000
Other Assets
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Financing receivable,												$ 145,000				$ 145,000	$ 147,500
Kansas Department Of Corrections
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Lease term																						20 years
Number of beds at the facility | Bed																						2,432
Construction of new facility commencement description																	Construction of the facility commenced in the first quarter of 2018, and construction was completed in January 2020,
Revenues																4,500	$ 2,600
Interest income																8,800	8,400
West Tennessee Detention Facility
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Net carrying value												$ 20,622				$ 20,622	20,842
Number of beds at the facility | Bed												600				600
Leavenworth Detention Center
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Net carrying value												$ 54,200				$ 54,200
Number of beds at the facility | Bed												1,033				1,033
Alabama Department of Corrections ("ADOC")
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Asset impairments													$ 5,200
Number of lease agreements | Agreement										2
Lease term										30 years
Number of correctional facilities | Facility										2
Idled Non-Core Facilities
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Net gain (loss) on sale of properties				$ (200)
Area of properties sold | ft²		18,000		12,000
Net carrying value		$ 2,000		$ 800
Net proceeds from sale of properties		$ 1,800		$ 600
Asset impairments															$ 1,300
Idled Non-Core Facilities | CoreCivic Safety segment
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Net carrying value												$ 3,100				$ 3,100
Number of beds at the facility | Bed												240				240
Number of facility | Facility																1
Idled Correctional Facilities
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of facility | Facility																6
Idle Facilities
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the facility | Bed																			90		60
Operating Expense																$ 8,000	$ 7,400	$ 7,100
Idle Facilities | Community
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed												740				740
Net carrying value												$ 11,400				$ 11,400
Number of facility | Facility																4
Tulsa Transitional Center | Covid-19
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed																				390
Oklahoma City Transitional Center | Covid-19
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed																					200
Turley Residential Center in Oklahoma
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed																		289
Fox Facility and Training Center | Purchase and Sale Agreements
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed												120				120
Ulster Facility | Purchase and Sale Agreements
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed												90				90
Residential Reentry Facilities | Purchase and Sale Agreements
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of facility | Facility												2
GRES
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Increase to stockholders' equity upon termination of partnership													$ 17,400
Raleigh, North Carolina | South Raleigh Reentry Center
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of beds at the center | Bed									60
Purchase price of real estate									$ 900
Detroit, Michigan
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Purchase price of real estate								$ 7,200
Area of Building Acquired | ft²								36,520
Percentage of building leased								100.00%
Lease expiration date								2028-06
Operating lease renewal term								6 years
Chester, Pennsylvania
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Carrying value of assets dispositions							$ 3,100
Proceeds from sale of property							3,400
Gain on sale of assets							$ 300
GRES
Facility Activations Developments And Closures [Line Items]
Number of properties acquired | Property						24
Class A Common interest shares issued | shares						1.3