Earnings Per Share (Details)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 03, 2010 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 03, 2010 USD ($)
Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted [Abstract]
Net Income	$ 21,293,000	$ 5,010,000	$ 58,836,000	$ 39,743,000
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	225,000	271,000	1,050,000	227,000
Income attributable to The GEO Group Inc.	21,518,000	5,281,000	59,886,000	39,970,000
Basic earnings per share attributable to The GEO Group Inc.:
Weighted average shares outstanding	63,340,000	57,799,000	64,028,000	52,428,000
Per share amount	$ 0.34	$ 0.09	$ 0.094	$ 0.76
Diluted earnings per share attributable to The GEO Group Inc.:
Weighted average shares outstanding	63,340,000	57,799,000	64,028,000	52,428,000
Effect of dilutive securities: Stock options and restricted stock	215,000	399,000	360,000	616,000
Weighted average shares assuming dilution	63,555,000	58,198,000	64,388,000	53,044,000
Earnings per share diluted	$ 0.34	$ 0.09	$ 0.93	$ 0.75
Basic and diluted earnings per share (Textual) [Abstract]
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share	123,738	23,807	79,466	21,655
Common stock purchased, Shares	2,500,000
Common stock purchased, Value	50,000,000
Stock to be repurchased under stock repurchase program	$ 100,000,000