Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION The GEO Group, Inc., a Florida corporation, and subsidiaries (the “Company” or “GEO”) specializes in the ownership, leasing and management of secure facilities, processing centers and reentry centers in the United States, Australia and South Africa. The Company owns, leases and operates a broad range of facilities including maximum, medium and minimum security facilities, processing centers, as well as community-based reentry facilities and offers an expanded delivery of rehabilitation services under its 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform. The 'GEO Continuum of Care' program integrates enhanced rehabilitative programs, which are evidence-based and include cognitive behavioral treatment and post-release services, and provides academic and vocational classes in life skills and treatment programs while helping individuals reintegrate into their communities. The Company develops new facilities based on contract awards, using its project development expertise and experience to design, construct and finance what it believes are state-of-the-art facilities that maximize security and efficiency. The Company provides innovative compliance technologies, industry-leading monitoring services, and evidence-based supervision and treatment programs for community-based parolees, probationers and pretrial defendants. The Company also provides secure transportation services for individuals as contracted domestically and in the United Kingdom through its joint venture GEO Amey PECS Ltd. (“GEOAmey”). At March 31, 2022, the Company’s worldwide operations include the management and/or ownership of approximately 83,000 beds at 103 facilities, including idle facilities, projects under development and recently awarded contracts, and also include the provision of community supervision services for more than 300,000 individuals on average, including over 100,000 through an array of technology products including radio frequency, GPS, and alcohol monitoring devices. GEO operated as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020. As a REIT, the Company provided services and conducted other business activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that is subject to applicable corporate income tax rates and certain qualification requirements. The Company's use of TRSs permitted GEO to engage in certain business activities in which the REIT could not engage directly, so long as those activities were conducted in entities that elected to be treated as TRSs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and enabled GEO to, among other things, provide correctional services at facilities it owns and at facilities owned by its government partners. A TRS is not subject to the distribution requirements applicable to REITs so it may retain income generated by its operations for reinvestment. On December 2, 2021, the Company announced that its board of directors (“Board”) unanimously approved a plan to terminate the Company's REIT status and become a taxable C Corporation, effective for the year ended December 31, 2021. As a result, the Company is no longer required to operate under REIT rules, including the requirement to distribute at least 90% of REIT taxable income to its stockholders, which provides the Company with greater flexibility to use its free cash flow. Effective January 1, 2021, the Company was subject to federal and state income taxes on its taxable income at applicable tax rates and was no longer entitled to a tax deduction for dividends paid. The Company operated as a REIT for the 2020 tax year, and existing REIT requirements and limitations, including those established by the Company’s organizational documents, remained in place until December 31, 2020. In connection with terminating the Company’s REIT status, the Board also voted unanimously to discontinue the Company's quarterly dividend in late 2021. The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all disclosures required by Form 10-K. The accounting policies followed for quarterly financial reporting are the same as those disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2022 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The accompanying December 31, 2021 consolidated balance sheet has been derived from those audited financial statements. Additional information may be obtained by referring to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring items) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information for the interim periods reported in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been made. Results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year ending December 31, 2022, or for any other future interim or annual periods. Risks and uncertainties Executive Order On January 26, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order directing the United States Attorney General not to renew Department of Justice (“DOJ”) contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities, as consistent with applicable law. Two agencies of the DOJ, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) and the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”), utilize GEO’s support services. The BOP houses inmates who have been convicted of federal crimes, and the USMS is generally responsible for detainees who are awaiting trial or sentencing in U.S. federal courts. As of March 31, 2022, GEO has one company-owned facility under direct contract with the BOP, which has a current contract option period that expires on September 30, 2022, and three company-owned/company-leased facilities under direct contracts with USMS, which have current contract option periods that expire between June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2023. COVID-19 In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, now known as COVID-19 (“COVID-19”), was reported in Wuhan, China and has since extensively impacted the global health and economic environment. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On February 28, 2020, the WHO raised its assessment of the COVID-19 threat from high to very high at a global level due to the continued increase in the number of cases and affected countries, and on March 11, 2020, the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. The Company has been closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of its business and geographies, including how it will impact those entrusted to its care and governmental partners. The Company has incurred disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic but, it is unable to predict the overall future impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties related to the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and related government-imposed mandatory closures, the efficacy and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, the evolution of COVID-19 variants, shelter in-place restrictions, labor shortages and social distancing protocols and increased expenditures on engineering controls, personal protective equipment, diagnostic testing, medical expenses, temperature scanners, protective plexiglass barriers and increased sanitation have had, and will continue to have, a severe impact on global economic conditions and the environment in which the Company operates. Additionally, the Company has experienced the transmission of COVID-19 among detainees and staff at most of its facilities. If the Company is unable to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 at its facilities it could experience a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Although the Company is unable to predict the duration or scope of the COVID-19 pandemic or estimate the extent of the negative financial impact to its operating results, an extended period of depressed economic activity necessitated to combating the disease, and the severity and duration of the related global economic crisis may adversely impact its future financial performance.

Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]

1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The GEO Group, Inc., a Florida corporation, and subsidiaries (the “Company” or “GEO”) specializes in the ownership, leasing and management of secure facilities, processing centers and reentry centers in the United States, Australia and South Africa. The Company owns, leases and operates a broad range of facilities including maximum, medium and minimum security facilities, processing centers, as well as community-based reentry facilities and offers an expanded delivery of rehabilitation services under its 'GEO Continuum of Care' platform. The 'GEO Continuum of Care' program integrates enhanced rehabilitative programs, which are evidence-based and include cognitive behavioral treatment and post-release services, and provides academic and vocational classes in life skills and treatment programs while helping individuals reintegrate into their communities. The Company develops new facilities based on contract awards, using its project development expertise and experience to design, construct and finance what it believes are state-of-the-art facilities that maximize security and efficiency. The Company provides innovative compliance technologies, industry-leading monitoring services, and evidence-based supervision and treatment programs for community-based parolees, probationers and pretrial defendants. The Company also provides secure transportation services for individuals as contracted domestically and in the United Kingdom through its joint venture GEO Amey PECS Ltd. (“GEOAmey”). At March 31, 2022, the Company’s worldwide operations include the management and/or ownership of approximately 83,000 beds at 103 facilities, including idle facilities, projects under development and recently awarded contracts, and also include the provision of community supervision services for more than 300,000 individuals on average, including over 100,000 through an array of technology products including radio frequency, GPS, and alcohol monitoring devices.

GEO operated as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") from January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020. As a REIT, the Company provided services and conducted other business activities through taxable REIT subsidiaries ("TRSs"). A TRS is a subsidiary of a REIT that is subject to applicable corporate income tax rates and certain qualification requirements. The Company's use of TRSs permitted GEO to engage in certain business activities in which the REIT could not engage directly, so long as those activities were conducted in entities that elected to be treated as TRSs under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and enabled GEO to, among other things, provide correctional services at facilities it owns and at facilities owned by its government partners. A TRS is not subject to the distribution requirements applicable to REITs so it may retain income generated by its operations for reinvestment.

On December 2, 2021, the Company announced that its board of directors (“Board”) unanimously approved a plan to terminate the Company's REIT status and become a taxable C Corporation, effective for the year ended December 31, 2021. As a result, the Company is no longer required to operate under REIT rules, including the requirement to distribute at least 90% of REIT taxable income to its stockholders, which provides the Company with greater flexibility to use its free cash flow. Effective January 1, 2021, the Company was subject to federal and state income taxes on its taxable income at applicable tax rates and was no longer entitled to a tax deduction for dividends paid. The Company operated as a REIT for the 2020 tax year, and existing REIT requirements and limitations, including those established by the Company’s organizational documents, remained in place until December 31, 2020. In connection with terminating the Company’s REIT status, the Board also voted unanimously to discontinue the Company's quarterly dividend in late 2021.

The Company's unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and the instructions to Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all disclosures required by Form 10-K. The accounting policies followed for quarterly financial reporting are the same as those disclosed in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2022 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The accompanying December 31, 2021 consolidated balance sheet has been derived from those audited financial statements. Additional information may be obtained by referring to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring items) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information for the interim periods reported in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q have been made. Results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year ending December 31, 2022, or for any other future interim or annual periods.

Risks and uncertainties

Executive Order

On January 26, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order directing the United States Attorney General not to renew Department of Justice (“DOJ”) contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities, as consistent with applicable law. Two agencies of the DOJ, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) and the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”), utilize GEO’s support services. The BOP houses inmates who have been convicted of federal crimes, and the USMS is generally responsible for detainees who are awaiting trial or sentencing in U.S. federal courts. As of March 31, 2022, GEO has one company-owned facility under direct contract with the BOP, which has a current contract option period that expires on September 30, 2022, and three company-owned/company-leased facilities under direct contracts with USMS, which have current contract option periods that expire between June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2023.

COVID-19

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, now known as COVID-19 (“COVID-19”), was reported in Wuhan, China and has since extensively impacted the global health and economic environment. In January 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On February 28, 2020, the WHO raised its assessment of the COVID-19 threat from high to very high at a global level due to the continued increase in the number of cases and affected countries, and on March 11, 2020, the WHO characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic.

The Company has been closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of its business and geographies, including how it will impact those entrusted to its care and governmental partners. The Company has incurred disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic but, it is unable to predict the overall future impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties related to the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and related government-imposed mandatory closures, the efficacy and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, the evolution of COVID-19 variants, shelter in-place restrictions, labor shortages and social distancing protocols and increased expenditures on engineering controls, personal protective equipment, diagnostic testing, medical expenses, temperature scanners, protective plexiglass barriers and increased sanitation have had, and will continue to have, a severe impact on global economic conditions and the environment in which the Company operates. Additionally, the Company has experienced the transmission of COVID-19 among detainees and staff at most of its facilities. If the Company is unable to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 at its facilities it could experience a material adverse effect on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Although the Company is unable to predict the duration or scope of the COVID-19 pandemic or estimate the extent of the negative financial impact to its operating results, an extended period of depressed economic activity necessitated to combating the disease, and the severity and duration of the related global economic crisis may adversely impact its future financial performance.