Basis of Presentation	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2023
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION The GEO Group, Inc., a Florida corporation, and subsidiaries (the “Company” or “GEO”) specialize in the ownership, leasing and management of secure facilities, processing centers and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia and South Africa. The Company owns, leases and operates a broad range of facilities including maximum, medium and minimum security facilities, processing centers, as well as community-based reentry facilities and offers an expanded delivery of rehabilitation services under its 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform. The 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform integrates enhanced rehabilitative programs, which are evidence-based and include cognitive behavioral treatment and post-release services, and provides academic and vocational classes in life skills and treatment programs while helping individuals reintegrate into their communities. The Company develops new facilities based on contract awards, using its project development expertise and experience to design, construct and finance what it believes are state-of-the-art facilities that maximize security and efficiency. The Company provides innovative compliance technologies, industry-leading monitoring services, and evidence-based supervision and treatment programs for community-based parolees, probationers and pretrial defendants. The Company also provides secure transportation services for individuals as contracted domestically and in the United Kingdom through its joint venture GEOAmey PECS Ltd. (“GEOAmey”). At June 30, 2023, the Company’s worldwide operations include the management and/or ownership of approximately 82,000 beds at 102 facilities, including idle facilities, and also include the provision of community supervision services for more than 400,000 individuals on average, including nearly 180,000 through an array of technology products including radio frequency, GPS, and alcohol monitoring devices. GEO operated as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020. As a REIT, the Company provided services and conducted other business activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that is subject to applicable corporate income tax rates and certain qualification requirements. The Company's use of TRSs permitted GEO to engage in certain business activities in which the REIT could not engage directly, so long as those activities were conducted in entities that elected to be treated as TRSs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and enabled GEO to, among other things, provide correctional services at facilities it owns and at facilities owned by its government partners. A TRS is not subject to the distribution requirements applicable to REITs so it may retain income generated by its operations for reinvestment. On December 2, 2021, the Company announced that its board of directors (the “Board”) unanimously approved a plan to terminate the Company's REIT status and become a taxable C Corporation, effective for the year ended December 31, 2021. As a result, the Company is no longer required to operate under REIT rules, including the requirement to distribute at least 90% of REIT taxable income to its shareholders, which provides the Company with greater flexibility to use its free cash flow. Effective January 1, 2021, the Company was subject to federal and state income taxes on its taxable income at applicable tax rates and was no longer entitled to a tax deduction for dividends paid. The Company operated as a REIT for the 2020 tax year, and existing REIT requirements and limitations remained in place until December 31, 2020. In connection with terminating the Company’s REIT status, the Board also voted unanimously to discontinue the Company's quarterly dividend in late 2021. The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all disclosures required by Form 10-K. The accounting policies followed for quarterly financial reporting are the same as those disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2023 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The accompanying December 31, 2022 consolidated balance sheet has been derived from those audited financial statements. Additional information may be obtained by referring to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring items) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information for the interim periods reported in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been made. Results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year ending December 31, 2023, or for any other future interim or annual periods.

Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The GEO Group, Inc., a Florida corporation, and subsidiaries (the “Company” or “GEO”) specialize in the ownership, leasing and management of secure facilities, processing centers and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia and South Africa. The Company owns, leases and operates a broad range of facilities including maximum, medium and minimum security facilities, processing centers, as well as community-based reentry facilities and offers an expanded delivery of rehabilitation services under its 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform. The 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform integrates enhanced rehabilitative programs, which are evidence-based and include cognitive behavioral treatment and post-release services, and provides academic and vocational classes in life skills and treatment programs while helping individuals reintegrate into their communities. The Company develops new facilities based on contract awards, using its project development expertise and experience to design, construct and finance what it believes are state-of-the-art facilities that maximize security and efficiency. The Company provides innovative compliance technologies, industry-leading monitoring services, and evidence-based supervision and treatment programs for community-based parolees, probationers and pretrial defendants. The Company also provides secure transportation services for individuals as contracted domestically and in the United Kingdom through its joint venture GEOAmey PECS Ltd. (“GEOAmey”). At June 30, 2023, the Company’s worldwide operations include the management and/or ownership of approximately 82,000 beds at 102 facilities, including idle facilities, and also include the provision of community supervision services for more than 400,000 individuals on average, including nearly 180,000 through an array of technology products including radio frequency, GPS, and alcohol monitoring devices.

GEO operated as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020. As a REIT, the Company provided services and conducted other business activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that is subject to applicable corporate income tax rates and certain qualification requirements. The Company's use of TRSs permitted GEO to engage in certain business activities in which the REIT could not engage directly, so long as those activities were conducted in entities that elected to be treated as TRSs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and enabled GEO to, among other things, provide correctional services at facilities it owns and at facilities owned by its government partners. A TRS is not subject to the distribution requirements applicable to REITs so it may retain income generated by its operations for reinvestment.

On December 2, 2021, the Company announced that its board of directors (the “Board”) unanimously approved a plan to terminate the Company's REIT status and become a taxable C Corporation, effective for the year ended December 31, 2021. As a result, the Company is no longer required to operate under REIT rules, including the requirement to distribute at least 90% of REIT taxable income to its shareholders, which provides the Company with greater flexibility to use its free cash flow. Effective January 1, 2021, the Company was subject to federal and state income taxes on its taxable income at applicable tax rates and was no longer entitled to a tax deduction for dividends paid. The Company operated as a REIT for the 2020 tax year, and existing REIT requirements and limitations remained in place until December 31, 2020. In connection with terminating the Company’s REIT status, the Board also voted unanimously to discontinue the Company's quarterly dividend in late 2021.

The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all disclosures required by Form 10-K. The accounting policies followed for quarterly financial reporting are the same as those disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2023 for the year ended December 31, 2022. The accompanying December 31, 2022 consolidated balance sheet has been derived from those audited financial statements. Additional information may be obtained by referring to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring items) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information for the interim periods reported in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been made. Results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year ending December 31, 2023, or for any other future interim or annual periods.