Variable Interest Entities (Details Textual)	2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended					2 Months Ended								6 Months Ended		3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 USD ($)		Jul. 03, 2011 USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 USD ($) facility director bed		Jul. 03, 2011 USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 USD ($)		Aug. 31, 2012 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member]	Oct. 02, 2011 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member]	Jul. 01, 2012 South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary [Member] South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value [Member] Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 South African Custodial Services Pty Limited [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 01, 2012 South African Custodial Services Pty Limited [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 Geo Amey [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 Geo Amey [Member] USD ($)	Jul. 01, 2012 Geo Amey [Member] GBP (£)	Apr. 01, 2012 Geo Amey [Member] GBP (£)	Apr. 24, 2012 Municipal Corrections Finance, L.P. [Member] USD ($)
Variable Interest Entities (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of beds in detention Complex					1,904
Aggregate principal amount of taxable revenue bonds													$ 49,500,000
Property and equipment, net		1,718,392,000	[1]		1,718,392,000	[1]		1,705,306,000	[1]					160,284,000	162,665,000	26,100,000	26,400,000
Stated interest rate of MCF revenue bond		7.75%			7.75%						8.47%	8.47%
Not consolidated owned joint venture in United kingdom					50.00%
Issued share capital																						100
Ownership percentage in South African Custodial Services Pty. Limited					50.00%													50.00%
Life term of contract					25 years													25 years
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage																								100.00%
Business Acquisition, Cost of Acquired Entity, Cash Paid																								27,000,000
Escrow Deposit																								10,000,000
Repayments of Long-term Debt										67,000,000
Redemption Premium										15,000,000
Gains (Losses) on Extinguishment of Debt	8,000,000
Reduction of government guarantee in case of default					80.00%
Equity Method Investments																		8,100,000	5,600,000	3,800,000	3,800,000
Issued share capital divided in no. of share																							100
Par value of share issued																							£ 1
Amount including accrued interest under line of credit																				19,100,000	19,100,000
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net of income tax provision		430,000		1,418,000	1,178,000		2,080,000													900,000	1,400,000
Number of Facilities Purchased From Cornell					11
Directors appointed to board by each party					3
Variable Interest Entities (Textual) [Abstract]
Term period of non-recourse bonds of the Company					10 years
Reminder base term of leased assets					20 years
Maximum period to which lease renewed					25 years
Lines of credit provided by GEO UK and Amey		$ 18,900,000			$ 18,900,000																	£ 12,000,000

[1] Variable interest entities or “VIEs”