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Liability related to potential tax exposure.

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Number of bed in detention complex.

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Percentage of amount payable guaranteed by Company.

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Potential estimated exposure of tax obligations.

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Stand by letters of credit provided as security for guarantee.

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The percentage points added to the reference rate to compute the variable rate on the debt instrument.

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Interest rate stated in the contractual debt agreement.

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Debt (Details Textual)	3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
Debt (Details Textual)	Apr. 01, 2012 USD ($) bed guarantees	Apr. 01, 2012 ZAR	Apr. 01, 2012 CAD	Jan. 01, 2012 USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Term Loan A, B And A - 2 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Additional Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Term Loan A - 2 [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Term Loan A [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Term Loan B [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2012 Letter of credit [Member] USD ($)
Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Senior Notes								$ 150,000,000	$ 150,000,000	$ 200,000,000
Notes bear interest at a rate	7.75%	7.75%
Borrowing capacity remaining						500,000,000
LIBOR interest rate						LIBOR plus 3.00%		LIBOR plus 3.00%	LIBOR plus 3.00%	LIBOR plus 2.75% with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%
Debt instrument basis spread on variable rate						3.00%		3.00%	3.00%	2.75%
Maturity date for senior credit facilities						Aug. 04, 2015		Aug. 04, 2015	Aug. 04, 2015	Aug. 04, 2016
Outstanding balance in Senior Credit Facility					476,800,000	302,000,000	140,900,000				57,100,000
Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Weighted average interest rates on outstanding borrowings under Senior Credit Facility	3.40%	3.40%
Number of beds in South Texas detention complex in Frio County	1,904	1,904
Maximum amount of obligation of SACS guaranteed through the issuance of letters of credit		60,000,000
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
Remaining guarantee under letter of credit	4,600,000
Maximum loan amount under stand by facility to SACS	2,600,000	20,000,000
Reduction in stand by letter of credit guarantee		34,800,000
Potential estimated exposure of tax obligations	2,500,000		2,500,000
Liability related to potential tax exposure	2,000,000			2,000,000
Letters of guarantee outstanding relating to performance guarantees	$ 10,000,000
Number of letters of guarantee outstanding under separate international facilities relating to performance guarantees	8	8