Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 510,185	$ 427,369
Operating expenses	388,506	317,909
Depreciation and amortization	28,451	24,940
General and administrative expenses	34,061	31,848
Operating income	59,167	52,672
Interest income	4,557	2,073
Interest expense	(29,366)	(24,646)
Income before income taxes and equity in earnings of affiliates	34,358	30,099
Provision for income taxes	3,151	2,828
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net of income tax provision of $471 and $613, respectively	1,119	1,485
Net income	32,326	28,756
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	24	21
Net income attributable to The GEO Group, Inc.	$ 32,350	$ 28,777
Weighted-average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	73,875	73,549
Diluted (in shares)	74,200	73,884
Basic:
Income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.44	$ 0.39
Diluted:
Income per common share attributable to The GEO Group, Inc. - diluted (in dollars per share)	0.44	0.39
Dividends declared per share	$ 0.65	$ 0.62