Debt (Details Textual 1)	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended						6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended					6 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Jul. 03, 2011 USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 USD ($)	Jul. 04, 2010 USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 ZAR	Jul. 03, 2011 CAD	Jan. 02, 2011 USD ($)		Jul. 03, 2011 Non Recourse Debt Northwest Detention Center [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2009 Senior Note due 2017 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Senior Note due 2017 [Member]	Oct. 20, 2009 Senior Note due 2017 [Member]	Feb. 10, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member]	Oct. 21, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 04, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 20, 2009 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2009 Senior Notes Due 2013 [Member]	Jul. 03, 2011 Taxable Revenue Bonds STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] AUD	Jul. 03, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)		Feb. 01, 2010 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)
Debt (Textual) (Abstract)
Percentage Rate of Senior Note									8.47%			7.75%	7.75%	6.625%	6.625%				8.25%
Private offering in aggregate principal amount		$ 250,000,000									$ 250,000,000			$ 300,000,000
Principal Amount of Senior notes due 2021 exchanged with Senior notes due 2017																250,000,000	300,000,000
Proceeds from long-term debt		482,260,000	97,000,000								246,400,000			293,300,000
Discounting on senior notes											3,600,000
Weighted average interest rate on oustanding borrowings under Senior Credit Facility				3.20%	3.20%
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount before October 15, 2013												100.00%			100.00%
Percentage of notes redeemable by proceed from specified equity offerings												35.00%			35.00%
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount on or before October 15, 2012												107.75%			106.625%
Aggregate principal amount								57,000,000										300,000,000		49,500,000
Bonds fixed coupon rates minimum								3.80%												4.63%
Subordinated notes receivable from STLDC																							5,000,000
Bonds fixed coupon rates maximum		4.10%																		5.07%
Non-Recourse Debt	184,009,000	184,009,000				191,394,000	[1]		108,300,000	108,300,000															45,800,000	46,300,000	125,509,000	132,078,000	[1]
Term period of non-recourse bonds of the Company	10 years	10 years
Long-term Debt, Gross								25,700,000																			27,300,000
Property and Equipment, Net	1,617,504,000	1,617,504,000				1,511,292,000	[1]														26,300,000	27,000,000					164,937,000	167,209,000	[1]
Payment from restricted cash for the current portion of periodic debt service requirement								0																						4,800,000
Net premium of non-recourse debt									9,700,000	9,700,000
Current Portion of Non-recourse Debt								6,100,000	14,600,000	14,600,000																	5,000,000
Debt service reserve fund balance									23,800,000
Current restricted cash								7,000,000																5,400,000			6,300,000
Non current restricted cash								5,800,000																			11,000,000
Interest rate terms																								Variable rate quoted by certain Australian banks plus 140 basis points
Minimum value of restricted cash balance required to be maintained																								5,000,000
Percentage of amount payable by SACS into the restricted account guaranteed by company				60.00%	60.00%
Stand by letters of credit provided as security for guarantee	1,300,000	1,300,000		8,400,000
Maximum loan amount under stand by facility to SACS	3,000,000	3,000,000		20,000,000
Potential estimated exposure of tax obligations	2,600,000	2,600,000			2,500,000
Liability related to potential tax exposure	$ 1,900,000	$ 1,900,000				$ 1,800,000
Number of letters of guarantee outstanding under separate international facilities relating to performance guarantees				8	8
Notice period for redemption of Senior Notes at the option of the company												not less than 30 nor more than 60 days			not less than 30 nor more than 60 days

[1] Derived from audited financial statements.