Debt (Details Textual 1)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended					9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	6 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	Oct. 02, 2011 ZAR	Oct. 02, 2011 ZAR	Oct. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 03, 2010 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 CAD	Jan. 02, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 Non Recourse Debt Northwest Detention Center [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 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 ($)	Jul. 03, 2011 Senior Note due 2017 [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 Senior Note due 2017 [Member]	Oct. 20, 2009 Senior Note due 2017 [Member]	Feb. 10, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Aug. 22, 2011 Senior Notes Due 2021 [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2009 Senior Notes Due 2013 [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 Taxable Revenue Bonds STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] AUD	Oct. 02, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 Australian Subsidiary's Non Recourse Debt [Member] AUD	Oct. 02, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Feb. 01, 2011 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 02, 2011 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															250,000,000	300,000,000
Proceeds from long-term debt			617,247,000	673,000,000						246,400,000				293,300,000
Discounting on senior notes										3,600,000
Weighted average interest rate on outstanding 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%	4.10%															5.07%
Other non-recourse debt, including current portion			162,033,000			191,394,000		77,900,000	93,700,000													41,100,000	39,700,000	46,300,000	45,200,000	109,001,000		132,078,000
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			1,673,851,000			1,511,292,000													26,100,000	27,000,000						163,801,000		167,209,000
Payment from restricted cash for the current portion of periodic debt service requirement							0																				4,800,000
Net premium of non-recourse debt								9,000,000	11,400,000
Current Portion of Non-recourse Debt							6,100,000	15,800,000	14,600,000																	5,000,000
Debt service reserve fund balance								23,800,000
Current restricted cash							7,000,000																4,800,000			6,200,000
Non current restricted cash							7,500,000																			15,600,000
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	8,400,000	8,400,000	1,000,000
Remaining guarantee under letter of credit		34,800,000	4,300,000
Maximum loan amount under stand by facility to SACS	20,000,000	20,000,000	2,500,000
Reduction in guarantee obligation	34,800,000
Potential estimated exposure of tax obligations			2,400,000		2,500,000
Liability related to potential tax exposure			$ 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