Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Details) In Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2011 EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)
Quarterly Financial Data [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 979.0	$ 995.8			$ 2,912.9	$ 2,888.4
Operating profit	37.1	62.5			106.0	119.9
Amounts Attributable To Brink's Income (Loss) From [Abstract]
Continuing operations	13.5	31.5			61.0	55.7
Discontinued operations	0	(0.7)			0	3.0
Net income attributable to Brink's	13.5	30.8			61.0	58.7
Depreciation and amortization					126.0	120.5
Capital expenditures					120.6	118.7
Diluted:
Continuing operations	$ 0.28	$ 0.66			$ 1.26	$ 1.16
Discontinued operations	$ 0	$ (0.02)			$ 0	$ 0.06
Net income	$ 0.28	$ 0.64			$ 1.26	$ 1.22
Basic:
Continuing operations	$ 0.28	$ 0.66			$ 1.26	$ 1.17
Discontinued operations	$ 0	$ (0.02)			$ 0	$ 0.06
Net income	$ 0.28	$ 0.64			$ 1.26	$ 1.23
Settlement Charge			$ 10	€ 7