Debt Non-Recourse Debt (Details)			6 Months Ended			6 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Taxable Revenue Bonds STLDC [Member]	Jun. 30, 2013 Subordinate Notes STLDC USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Non Recourse Debt Two Thousand Three Revenue Bonds [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Non Recourse Debt Northwest Detention Center [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Non Recourse Debt Two Thousand Eleven Revenue Bonds [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Australian Subsidiaries Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2013 Australian Subsidiaries Non Recourse Debt [Member] AUD	Dec. 31, 2012 Australian Subsidiaries Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 Australian Subsidiaries Non Recourse Debt [Member] AUD	Jun. 30, 2013 South Texas Detention Complex Carrying Value USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Face amount					$ 57,000,000							$ 49,500,000
Long-Term Debt	1,444,475,000	1,317,529,000					54,400,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Minimum			4.63%			4.10%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage Rate Range, Maximum			5.07%			5.25%
Current Portion of Non recourse Debt				5,500,000		6,500,000
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Current				6,300,000		9,300,000
Total Non-Recourse Debt	111,482,000	123,482,000		17,200,000		67,700,000		27,800,000	30,400,000	34,800,000	33,600,000
Basis spread on variable rate								1.40%	1.40%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate Terms								variable rate quoted by certain Australian banks plus 140 basis points	variable rate quoted by certain Australian banks plus 140 basis points
Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Noncurrent				$ 16,900,000		$ 4,100,000		$ 4,600,000	5,000,000