Yes smart electric meters can detect tampering and relay that information to the electric utility.
The smart meters can also detect unusual activity within the meter and see that suddenly someone has been using less electricity than they normally would and then that would alert the electric utility company and then they would send someone out to investigate.
Electricity theft can get a person jail time as well as huge fines so it's not worth it plus it's very dangerous to tamper with electric meters and electric wires.