Condensed Consolidating Financial Information (Details 3) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Cash Flow from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	$ 60,745	$ 63,152
Cash Flow from Investing Activities:
Acquisition of LCS, net of cash acquired	(307,403)	0
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	20	165
Insurance proceeds - damaged property	700	0
Acquisition of Protocol, cash consideration		(13,000)
Change in restricted cash and investments	(8,108)	(3,273)
Capital expenditures	(34,198)	(17,531)
Net cash used in investing activities	(348,989)	(33,639)
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt	371,000	103,000
Payments on long-term debt	(38,750)	(108,990)
Payments on non-recourse debt	(1,645)us-gaap_RepaymentsOfOtherDebt	(1,403)us-gaap_RepaymentsOfOtherDebt
Proceeds from non-recourse debt	33,019us-gaap_ProceedsFromOtherDebt	0us-gaap_ProceedsFromOtherDebt
Taxes paid related to net share settlements of equity awards	(1,123)	0
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in connection with ESPP	98us-gaap_ProceedsFromSaleOfTreasuryStock	84us-gaap_ProceedsFromSaleOfTreasuryStock
Debt issuance costs	(1,245)us-gaap_PaymentsOfDebtIssuanceCosts	0us-gaap_PaymentsOfDebtIssuanceCosts
Income tax benefit related to equity compensation	569	558
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options	1,215	3,275
Cash dividends paid	(45,977)us-gaap_PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock	(41,139)us-gaap_PaymentsOfDividendsCommonStock
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	317,161	(44,615)
Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents	(1,273)	1,040
Net increase (decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents	27,644	(14,062)
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period	41,337	52,125
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period	68,981	38,063
The GEO Group, Inc.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	35,300	28,511
Cash Flow from Investing Activities:
Acquisition of LCS, net of cash acquired	(307,403)
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	0	0
Insurance proceeds - damaged property	0
Acquisition of Protocol, cash consideration		0
Change in restricted cash and investments	102	(185)
Capital expenditures	(20,561)	(8,586)
Net cash used in investing activities	(327,862)	(8,771)
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt	371,000	103,000
Payments on long-term debt	(38,750)	(108,750)
Payments on non-recourse debt	0	0
Proceeds from non-recourse debt	0
Taxes paid related to net share settlements of equity awards	(1,123)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in connection with ESPP	98	84
Debt issuance costs	0
Income tax benefit related to equity compensation	569	558
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options	1,215	3,275
Cash dividends paid	(45,977)	(41,139)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	287,032	(42,972)
Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents	(5,530)	(23,232)
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period	18,492	30,730
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period	12,962	7,498
Combined Subsidiary Guarantors
Cash Flow from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	30,416	25,116
Cash Flow from Investing Activities:
Acquisition of LCS, net of cash acquired	0
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	20	165
Insurance proceeds - damaged property	700
Acquisition of Protocol, cash consideration		(13,000)
Change in restricted cash and investments	(6,443)	(549)
Capital expenditures	(13,042)	(8,642)
Net cash used in investing activities	(18,765)	(22,026)
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt	0	0
Payments on long-term debt	0	(240)
Payments on non-recourse debt	0	0
Proceeds from non-recourse debt	0
Taxes paid related to net share settlements of equity awards	0
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in connection with ESPP	0	0
Debt issuance costs	0
Income tax benefit related to equity compensation	0	0
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options	0	0
Cash dividends paid	0	0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	0	(240)
Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents	11,651	2,850
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period	782	985
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period	12,433	3,835
Combined Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Cash Flow from Operating Activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities	(4,971)	9,525
Cash Flow from Investing Activities:
Acquisition of LCS, net of cash acquired	0
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment	0	0
Insurance proceeds - damaged property	0
Acquisition of Protocol, cash consideration		0
Change in restricted cash and investments	(1,767)	(2,539)
Capital expenditures	(595)	(303)
Net cash used in investing activities	(2,362)	(2,842)
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from long-term debt	0	0
Payments on long-term debt	0	0
Payments on non-recourse debt	(1,645)	(1,403)
Proceeds from non-recourse debt	33,019
Taxes paid related to net share settlements of equity awards	0
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in connection with ESPP	0	0
Debt issuance costs	(1,245)
Income tax benefit related to equity compensation	0	0
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options	0	0
Cash dividends paid	0	0
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	30,129	(1,403)
Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash and Cash Equivalents	(1,273)	1,040
Net increase (decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents	21,523	6,320
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period	22,063	20,410
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period	43,586	26,730
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Cash Flow from Financing Activities:
Cash and Cash Equivalents, beginning of period			0
Cash and Cash Equivalents, end of period	$ 0		$ 0

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