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Debt (Details Textual)	9 Months Ended												9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($) bed guarantees	Sep. 30, 2012 ZAR	Sep. 30, 2012 CAD	Aug. 31, 2012 USD ($)	Aug. 30, 2012	Apr. 24, 2012	Jan. 01, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member]	Jan. 01, 2012 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member] USD ($)	Oct. 02, 2011 MCFs Non Recourse Debt [Member]	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinate Notes STLDC [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan A, B And A - 2 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Additional Revolver [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan A - 2 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan A - 3 [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan A [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Term Loan B [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Letter of credit [Member] USD ($)
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Bond Redemption Costs	$ 100,000
Non-Recourse Debt	131,248,000			77,900,000			241,798,000		93,700,000
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage				100.00%	0.00%	100.00%
Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable, Gross, Noncurrent											5,000,000
Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Senior Notes															150,000,000	100,000,000	150,000,000	200,000,000
Notes bear interest at a rate	7.75%	7.75%						8.47%		8.47%
Borrowing capacity remaining													500,000,000
LIBOR interest rate													LIBOR plus 2.75%		LIBOR plus 2.75%	LIBOR plus 2.75%	LIBOR plus 2.75%	LIBOR plus 2.75% with a LIBOR floor of 1.00%
Debt instrument basis spread on variable rate													3.00%		3.00%		3.00%	2.75%
Maturity date for senior credit facilities													Aug. 04, 2015		Aug. 04, 2015	Aug. 04, 2015	Aug. 04, 2015	Aug. 04, 2016
Outstanding balance in Senior Credit Facility												568,500,000		213,600,000					56,400,000
Long-term Line of Credit	230,000,000						302,000,000
Debt (Textual) [Abstract]
Weighted average interest rates on outstanding borrowings under Senior Credit Facility	3.20%	3.20%
Number of beds in South Texas detention complex in Frio County	1,904	1,904
Maximum amount of obligation of SACS guaranteed through the issuance of letters of credit		60,000,000
Percentage of amount payable by SACS into the restricted account guaranteed by company	60.00%	60.00%
Stand by letters of credit provided as security for guarantee		8,400,000
Remaining guarantee under letter of credit	4,200,000
Maximum loan amount under stand by facility to SACS	2,400,000	20,000,000
Reduction in stand by letter of credit guarantee		34,800,000
Potential estimated exposure of tax obligations	2,500,000		2,500,000
Liability related to potential tax exposure	2,200,000						2,000,000
Letters of guarantee outstanding relating to performance guarantees	$ 10,600,000
Number of letters of guarantee outstanding under separate international facilities relating to performance guarantees	7	7

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Interest rate stated in the contractual debt agreement.

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Maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee or each group of similar guarantees before reduction for potential recoveries under recourse or collateralization provisions.

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