Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets - Goodwill (Details) $ in Thousands	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period	$ 615,433
Acquisitions	172,343
Foreign Currency Translation	27
Goodwill, end of period	787,803
U.S. Corrections & Detention
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period	277,774
Acquisitions	43,086
Foreign Currency Translation	0
Goodwill, end of period	320,860
GEO Care
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period	337,257
Acquisitions	129,257
Foreign Currency Translation	0
Goodwill, end of period	466,514
International Services
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period	402
Acquisitions	0
Foreign Currency Translation	27
Goodwill, end of period	$ 429

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35741047&loc=d3e13816-109267

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6388280&loc=d3e13770-109266

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 350
-SubTopic 20
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=64834752&loc=SL49117168-202975

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- Definition

Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

+ References

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- Definition

Amount of foreign currency translation gain (loss) which increases (decreases) an asset representing future economic benefits from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

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- Definition

A roll forward is a reconciliation of a concept from the beginning of a period to the end of a period.

+ References

No definition available.

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